Moon Over Chicago Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
by Horosha
Summary: This is a rewrite of Sailor Moon, with the events taking place in around the American city of Chicago. Some things will be familiar to those who have seen the anime version or the liveaction version of Sailor Moon, or have read the manga, while other thin
1. Chapter 1

Series Title: Moon Over Chicago

By December Lewis, Chivon Ruddock and Horosha

Disclaimer: "Sailor Moon" is the property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd. and Toei Animation Ltd. As such, I'm getting no compensation for writing this fiction other than my own enjoyment and to bring pleasure to the fans of this wonderful series.

If you have any comments, our e-mail addresses also want to thank December Lewis for deciding I'm good enough to work with her and create this series.

WARNING: Moon Over Chicago is a violent series with adult situations, slang and bad language. As such this series is rated R and anyone under the age of fourteen should get parental approval before reading it.

Prologue

It was a beautiful night in late August, the last Thursday in the month. While it still felt like summer this suburb of the Windy City, there were signs of fall around the corner. And one of them was the beginning of practice for fall sports teams at most of the high schools.

It was just a short walk home from the school. Jennifer Morrison, a rising junior at Juuban High School in Evanston, honestly had not expected any problems. As captain and choreographer for the dance team, she had made that walk alone after practice many a time since gaining a space on the team her freshmen year. Tonight felt different, but the blonde shrugged it off. She figured she was just overreacting to some of the reports of strange attacks in the area over the summer.

As she rounded the corner, she heard someone step on a twig behind her. Nervously Jennifer turned, but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was, the redheaded sophomore and co-captain of the dance team stood a few feet behind her. "Melinda! You about gave me a heart attack! Why didn't you tell me that you wanted someone to walk you home?"

But Melinda didn't answer. In fact, as Melinda came closer, she didn't seem quite herself. Something seemed off about her eyes, and her gait wasn't quite normal. "Melinda, is everything alright?" the blonde teenager asked her friend, but received no reply. Finally, when Melinda was practically on top of her fellow-teammate, she spoke for the first time during the encounter, "Dancing is a form of worship. And you are supportive of others on the team, defusing arguments. Maybe you are the one we are looking for."

That was the last thing the dance team choreographer heard; she didn't have time to question it, much less scream.

To the outside world it just looked like another commission meeting. Very often, there were commission meetings in the Chamber of Commerce building. Some of these were open to the public, some weren't. Regardless of the level of access to these meetings, the people of Evanston were appreciative of this initiative by their mayor to involve education, government, and the private sector in regular talks. And the commission that received the most praise, even though its meetings were closed, was the Evanston Vindication and Improvement League. No one knew all of the members of this league, but it was rumored that representatives from Northwestern University, the private secondary schools in Evanston, high ranking members of law enforcement, and even the husband of the mayor, a successful businessman, were part of this league. On its surface, it appears to be a praiseworthy organization.

But not everything is what it appears on its surface.

The members all sat a long table in a dark room. As soon as all the members were present, the doors were locked. The minutes of this meeting were kept secret, as the members had a very different agenda than the one they quietly cultivated in the press.

Around the table were various important people cloaked in shadow, dressed as they would be in their daily lives, but talking in ways that would surprise some that knew them in that context. The main discussion in this group centered around two women and five men, each with shared and disparate goals, each darker than they appeared.

"Damnit!" a male voice, not normally raised in anger, shouted as he banged his hand against the table. "It has been like that all summer! Why can't we find the damn girl!" His pale blue eyes stared accusingly at another of the males in the room. Brown eyes stared right back at him, although the voice that responded to those questions did not belong to those eyes.

"Mistakes are understandable. In the past the instrument has been well-hidden. We only managed to get the jump on her once." Another male voice in the room explained. White hair gently moved as the man turned his head. Next to the leader of the room, he was the calmest person currently in the meeting, a fact that a few others noted, although they didn't know what to make of it.

"And we know how that went. Defeated, they still managed to destroy us. And hide to fight again another day. We've known what we must do from the beginning of this operation. We have to destroy the instrument herself. And sooner rather than later." An annoyed female voice insisted from across the room. The main person entrusted with finding the instrument and the protectors, the mistakes of those around her that she saw as incompetent irked her. In fact, in her personal opinion, the failures of the distant past to destroy the instrument were also due to incompetence, which served to further annoy her.

"Now, now," a smooth but sinister voice chastened as it floated on the air. "We have the advantage. We know the instrument will awaken and we know she will find her way here to stop us. We live in highly suspicious times. People are out for number one. Here, they'll sue at the drop of the hat. They'll shoot first and ask questions later. And the 'justice system' is corrupt. This is MY city; we will get her soon enough." As leader, he realized that it was his job to keep this group focused. Some days that was easier than others.

"But," the original male voice countered, "We need someone on the inside. Sure, we can target all the outstanding young women of the right age. Heck, we can even kill them all, but we could still miss her. We need someone on the inside."

Near the front of the table, the sounds of note-taking suddenly stopped as the youngest member of the group, at least in appearance, finally spoke. "It sounds like you are asking for volunteers. Well, I haven't caused havoc in a long time. I'll go." Long brown hair swished back and forth as the voice laughed. It had been a long time since she had caused havoc...and people were saying very good things about the high school football teams that year.

Chapter One: Instrument of Peace Unleashed

Location: 551 Grove Street, Evanston, Illinois

It was the last Friday in August and the beginning of the Labor Day Weekend, but Serena didn't feel like celebrating it. Even with the radio DJs' chants of no clouds, light breezes and plenty of blue skies, the late summer sunshine only increased her gloom. All she wanted to do was to sit against the white picked fence that marked the border of her new home as her baby blues watch the professional movers and her family take their possessions into the two-story brick house.

"Sammy, don't let Ricky out of his cage until after the movers leave."

The blonde's eyes narrow, her arms hug tighter the beaten up stuffed animal she embraced.

"Okay, Mom!"

Serena's lips grimaced, "Damned masked fleabag." She stared daggers at the pet carrier her twelve-year-old brother took out of the family's SUV.

"You know you're going to get grass stains on your pants."

"So what," Serena grumbled, then her eyebrows pop up when she realized it was an unfamiliar voice talking to her. The teenager looked over her shoulder and found a redheaded girl standing on the other side of the fence, a curious look on her milky white face. In one bounce Serena was on her feet and she faced the girl, her extra long, twin ponytails a golden field around her nervous laughing face, "Sorry about that," she held her hand out over the fence, "I'm Serenity Hope Guerisser."

"Molly Eve Baker," smiling the girl shook Serena's hand, "Serenity Hope Guerisser, eh?" The blonde nodded, "That's a mouthful," the girl in the pink-and-white stripped blouse and green miniskirt observed.

"My friends call me Serena." A worried look appearing on Serena's ruddy face, "We can be friends, can't we?"

Molly's smile widened, "I don't see why not, Serena, we're next-door neighbors after all."

"Great!" Serena gushed out, and still holding the stuffed toy, she used her free hand to vault over the four-foot fence. This athletic feat allowed Molly to notice the much used heavy boots, black-leathered inlayed blue jeans and thick orange shirt her new friend wore; it also allowed her to notice something else.

"What's this?" Molly used her emerald eyes to direct Serena's attention to the glint of gold peeking between the buttons of the blonde's shirt.

"Oh, this?" Serena fished out the item from around her slim neck. Molly let out a whistle at seeing the ornate Celtic gold cross hanging from a rosary, "It's my mother's cross. She decided I was old enough to have it."

"Wow," the cross catching the noontime sun made Molly awed, "I didn't think they made them like that anymore."

"It's a family heirloom," Serena's voice secretive, "it suppose to have a piece of the True Cross in it."

If Molly's eyes could get any bigger they would, her next question showed some envy, "So you're a Catholic?"

"Yep!" Serena put the cross away, "Although we haven't been to church in a long time."

Molly gave the blonde a perplexed look, "Why?"

Instead of answering immediately, Serena once more hugged the white bleached stuffed rabbit, her sapphire orbs misty as she looked at it, "We were in the Yukon Territory for the past two years."

That piece of information set off alarm bells in Molly's head, 'Guerisser . . . Yukon Territory,' her mouth dropped open, "Your family are the naturalists, the Guerissers, who did that article and photo spread for National Geographic." It took a second for the redhead to see the unshed tears in Serena's eyes, "What's wrong?"

"They made me leave Fuzzy behind," Serena was trying real hard not to cry, she had kept a stony silence all the way from their cabin to this new home, "Mom and Dad...told me..." the levy was breaking, "Fuzzy was too big...too old...to bring along."

The rawness of Serena's pain caused Molly to frown, she pulled out her white laced handkerchief and offer it to the tearful blonde, "I hope your pet will do fine up there."

"Thanks," Serena took the piece of cloth, "I miss him so much," she quickly dried her eyes and rubbed her face dry, her voice pouting, "and they let my brother bring his fleabag."

"Fleabag?"

"His raccoon."

"Ahh," Molly sounded intrigue by the idea.

"Don't think they're cute, Molly," Serena's pout strengthening, "raccoons are nothing more than big rats with masks and fuzzy tails."

"Oh," Molly's expression looked sickly. "Well, maybe your parents will get you a new pet."

"Nothing will ever replace Fuzzy," Serena dabbed her baby blues.

Molly felt terrible but her expression brightened, "I just remembered, Serena," making sure she had her new friend's attention, "Mom sent me out to invite you and your family to a barbecue as a neighborly way of saying welcome."

"Sounds like a great idea."

The approval caught both girls by surprise and they turn to find an adult couple coming up on the other side of the fence. Remembering her manners, Serena quickly said, "Molly, this is my Mom and Dad."

"Hello," the man extended his hand, "I'm Kenneth Lucan Guerisser and this is my wife, Ilene," the woman with waist-length hair extended her hand.

"A pleasure, really," Molly shook both hands before she added, "and we're having the party at Dawes Park, Sunday, after church."

"Do we need to bring anything?" Ilene's asked. Serena could see the surprise on Molly's face, so few could believe such a melodious voice could come from her naturalist mother. Both of Serena's parents were still dressed in their heavy northern clothes.

"Just your appetites," Molly's joke got the usual grins.

"Aren't you going to introduce me, Sis?"

Serena made a face as Molly's attention turned to the speaker, a boy with dishwater blond hair and dressed like his sister except he wore an evergreen turtleneck. "This is my brother, Samuel," the petite blonde used a tone that older sisters reserved for annoying little brothers.

"Hi there," Molly held out her hand again, "I'm Molly."

Sammy looked at the hand like it was diseased, made a show of taking it and shaking it, "I heard," his tone barely civil.

"Sammy, dear," Ilene gave her son an unsatisfied look, "why don't you get your room organized, while the movers are still here?"

"Okay, Mom," the boy sounded glad to get away from the teenage girls.

After the boy was gone, Ilene turned to Molly, "Please forgive my son, he's had some bad luck trying to form friendships."

"It's mostly our fault," Ken gently squeezed his wife's hand, "whenever Sammy finds some friends, it's time for us to move on."

"I noticed," Molly got some strange looks from Serena's parents, "I mean, I have some of the photos and stories you have done for the National Geographic and the Smithsonian."

That got a grin from Ken, "So we have a fan here?"

"Well, my science teacher in middle school required us to read them," Molly explained as she watched the two adults glow in their achievements, "and the places you've been, Tibet, Siberia, Tanzania and the Congo."

"All of which is behind us, now," Ilene motioned with her hand, "for our children, we've decided to settle down here and give them a chance for a normal life."

"Normal, yeah, right," Serena's tone wasn't gung-ho.

The exchange of looks between Ken and Ilene showed to Molly that this was just a part of a long running argument between them and their daughter, the way her mother sidestepped the issue made it clear, "Serena, dear, why don't you head over to the SUV, we need to go to the animal shelter so you can pick your new pet."

Serena's eyes narrow, her arms squeezed the abused bunny and her stance suggested she was about to tell her parents what she thought about the idea of getting a new pet, but then she sagged and the blonde shuffled her feet like she was heading for a firing squad, "I'll see you later, Molly."

Molly watched Serena go around the white fence but she was able to catch Ilene's comment, "After we get you your new pet, I'm sure your father will take us shopping since we do need to get some new swimsuits for Sunday's beach party."

At those words the black clouds over Serena's head cleared and Molly giggled quietly at how fast the blonde's footfalls perk up, the redhead covered her mouth to keep from laughing aloud at the pale look on Ken's face.

Location: Evanston Animal Shelter

The dim of constant barking coming from the animal shelter put Serena on edge and she just stepped out of the metallic green SUV, her baby blues shifted to her parents but there was no reprieve there. So she entered the animal shelter, still hugging Fuzzy's old chew toy, and asked the attendant standing behind the particleboard counter, "I'm here to adopt an animal."

The attendant, an overweight, middle-aged man who didn't look like he liked his job, asked, "What kind of animal did you want to see?"

Serena shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know," then a hopeful look appeared on her face, "got any Grizzly Bears?"

Laughter burst from the attendant, "No...we don't have any Teddy Bears here, little missy," his jolly response kept him from see the disheartened look on the blonde's face, "but just for you, I'll show you our best."

"Okay," the blues hung in Serena's voice as she followed the attendant, a glance over her shoulder showed her parents were right behind her so Serena knew she couldn't make a quick escape.

The moment Serena entered the cold steel and hard cement compound that made up the cages for the animals, the barking and howling stopped, cold. The attendant looked surprised and he called out, "Hey, George, what happened?"

"I don't know, Harvey," a needle thin man wearing the same blue-gray uniform as the fat man replied, "I never seen them shut up like this before."

Seeing the attendants confused, Serena became confused herself. "And they're spooked too," George added and it was true, the blonde saw the closest pins and the dogs inside were cowering, their tails between their legs.

After a moment of ponder Serena took a sniff of her underarms, she knew better than most that animals' senses are sharper than humans, but she didn't detect anything more than usual. She gave her parents a questioning look but both of them just shrugged, Ilene saying, "At least this way you can think before picking a pet."

Serena's expression soured but she dutifully followed the attendant, who said, "I'll bet you would like a cute kitten."

"Maybe," Serena's lackluster steps echoed her mood.

When the little group reached the stacked cages containing the felines, George exclaimed, "I'll be!"

Serena's baby blues widened at the sight of the cats cowering in the back of their cages, pensive looks on their cute faces. "Meow," it sounded proud, drew the blonde's attention to one of the lower cages, her gaze locked on a pair of golden orbs nestled in the richness of night.

"Ohhhh..." Serena knelt by the cage, she held out her right hand palm up. In a corner of her mind, she wondered at her own awe at the fearless way the cat smelled her fingertips, yet she couldn't stop from thinking how cute the horned moon bald spot looked upon the little forehead.

"Serena, is this the one you want?" Ilene asked as she too knelt by her daughter and held out her hand, her own mind suddenly awash with affection for the little animal.

"Huh-huh," Serena's voice strangely distant, "Let's take Luna home."

"Luna?" Ken asked as he gave the pet carrier to George.

"It sounds like a great name," Ilene smiled at her daughter, her left hand resting on her daughter's back.

"Yes..." then Serena's shook her head to clear the surreal fog from her mind, "Yes! Luna is perfect for her."

Location: Jotan's Mall, Evanston

Sammy had remained in the SUV when his family stopped at the animal shelter, but now he joined them in the shopping part of their excursion. Serena was reluctant to leave Fuzzy's chew toy behind but her mother pointed out it would be hard for her to try on clothes and bikinis while holding it. In compensation her parents allowed her to take with her the pet carrier containing Luna, which put a smile back on their daughter's face.

"What do you think of this bikini?" Ilene showed an ocean green two-piece to her daughter.

Serena scrutinized her mother selection and then she held up the pet carrier so Luna could see it, "What do you think, Luna?"

Ilene smiled at the way Serena waited patiently as the black cat seemed to exam the bathing suit before she said, "Meow."

"No, Mom, Luna doesn't like it," Serena shook her head before her eyes lit up, "There!" The blonde immediately snatched up a yellow polka-dot bikini, "I'll try this one!"

"Won't it show a little too much skin?" Ken's voice coming from the men's section, he didn't need to see his daughter's selection, his fatherly radar did.

"Please!" Serena gave her mother the full puppy-dog-eyes treatment.

Ilene allowed a half-minute to pass, using her own mother-knows-best look before saying, "Okay."

"You're the best, Mom," Serena gave her mother a one-arm hug before heading for the changing room with Luna. Serena kept up a one-way conversation with Luna as she smoothly changed from her heavy clothes to the almost invisible lightness of the two pieces of neon yellow and satin black cloth and strings. The fourteen-year-old couldn't explain why she was already so emotionally attached to the black cat, it was like the animal's golden orbs opened something inside her and allowed her to drink of draught of love from it. What it was Serena didn't know, only that she didn't feel like crying all the time anymore, her soul now holding only fondness for her former home in the wilderness. When she came out of the changing room, the blonde did a pirouette before her mother, father and brother.

"It looks very nice on you, Serena," Serena could tell from her mother's tone she had reservations about the suit, how it only covered half of her bouncy breasts and just enough of her nether regions to not be considered a thong, but after having her daughter unhappy for so long Ilene was willing to spoil her a little.

Serena was puzzled by the look of betrayal Ken gave Ilene, which allowed Sammy to make a dig, "Dad, wanna bet Sis is going to be BF and P by this time next year?"

The meaning of Sammy's words went right over Serena's head and the hard glare her dad gave her brother left her puzzled.

Location: The Guerisser Residence

Once home, the rest of Friday was used by Serena to organize her bedroom furniture, make her bed and put away her clothes. The blonde noticed Luna watched her from the middle of the bed, to the girl the cat's golden eyes seem studious in their gaze. By the time Serena was done with her room, her clock showed it was close to midnight, time for bed. After changing into her pink pajamas, the fourteen-year old put Fuzzy's chew toy at the foot of her bed, turned down her bedcovers, climbed in and pulled Luna into her lap.

Staring at the stuffed rabbit, Serena slowly stroked Luna's back and neck before scratching lightly underneath the cat's chin, enticing a loud loving purr from the animal. "I'm going to keep missing Fuzzy," Serena whispered softly in her pet's ears, "but maybe this is start of a beautiful relationship."

"Meow."

"I'm glad you think so too," Serena hugged Luna before putting the cat to one side, the petite blonde laid down and pulled the covers up to her chin and turned out the light. Already with a foot in dreamland, Serena mumbled, "Goodnight, Luna."

"Goodnight, Serenity."

Serena smiled in her sleep, amazed her imagination caused her cat to speak English.

The next moment Serena found herself standing in ruins. She was aware this was a dream, the surreal vestige her eyes beheld told her it was, for the Earth hung in the black sky above the broken Doric columns. Her steps, she could hear and feel the fragmented floor crunch under her feet and the severed marble table, half protruding from the rubble, was icy to her touch. From between the columns she saw the brown death of a garden, skeleton brushes, headless statures standing in empty fountains, the ground only gray dust.

"So this is the Moon," Serena knew she shouldn't be able to speak here, instead her body should either explode in this zero pressure world, turn into ice by the freezing space or boil from the unshielded radiation.

"Yes, it is, Serenity Hope Guerisser."

A person stood next to her, Serena didn't know where the moon white woman came from, she was just there, her body adorned with a beautiful black dress with billowing shoulder sleeves along with bluish white lace at the neckline and hem. The tiny gold chocker around her slim neck was matched by a pearl hanging from a gold chain in the middle of her forehead. Her long curly black hair had cat-ear-like buns, which only enhanced her exotic beauty.

"Who are you?" Looking up and down Serena noticed the elegant black shoes on the young lady's tiny feet.

"I'm Luna," her curtsy to Serena showed barely suppressed excitement.

"Luna?" Serena slowly reached up and her mouth made an oh-shape as her hand ran through the pale lady's soft bangs.

With a tiny smile Luna held out her right hand, saying, "We don't have much time."

"Why?" the dream started out scary but now Serena was fascinated that she dreamed Luna this way, "It's a dream after all?"

"You are right and wrong, Serenity," the mysterious smile on Luna's lips showed tiny sharp fangs to Serena.

Serena hesitated for a second, Luna's answer bothered her a little, but she wanted to learn more. A sense of vertigo hit her dream-self when she took the black-haired girl's hand and the first thing she sensed was the drew-covered grass between her toes. It was now the petite blonde realized she was still dressed in her bunny-decorated pajamas, but it was a small detail compare to what she saw now.

The tree before Serena was immense, the trunk as vast as any redwood tree she ever saw and the green boughs filled the sky as far as she could see. The shade underneath was the home of fields of wildflowers and the air was filled with the sounds of noisy brooks, birdcalls and honeybees. Beasts roam the fields but none attacked each other, the lion laid with the lamb, the hawk flew with the dove.

"This is all that is left of the Garden of Eden," Luna waved her hand at the surroundings.

The sight, "It's beautiful", awed, "wonderful," Serena's eyes continue to roam.

"It was taken from us by the Fallen," Luna's tone turning serious, "just as the Moon Kingdom was taken from us."

"The Fallen," Serena didn't understand, all this beauty, all this peacefulness, taken.

"As you know, Serenity, there are angels, the servants of God," Luna kept her golden eyes on her companion, "but when God created Adam and Eve and gave them the Garden of Eden as their home, he told the angels to protect and obey Adam and Eve as they would him. Some of the angels became jealous, their love for God so strong that they disobeyed God's edict. They tricked the serpent into being their pawn and he in turn convinced Eve to eat the fruit from this tree, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve gave the fruit to Adam and he ate it too, both breaking the rule of God. So when Adam and Eve were driven from Eden by God, these fallen angels attacked them."

"How awful," Serena felt her soul cry, her spirit wanting what she saw.

"But God knew of the intentions of the Fallen and He created a lovely girl He called the Instrument of Peace and gave her teammates, the Sailor Scouts, to protect Adam and Eve," Luna walked away from Serena before turning back to the petite blonde.

"The Sailor Scouts," it sounded glorious to Serena, to think of female warriors given the responsibility to protect Adam and Eve, a sense of pride awoke inside of her.

Luna walked back to Serena, filling her companion's vision, "After Adam and Eve were safe, the Tree of Knowledge was brought here as was the Instrument of Peace, where the Sailor Scouts could protect both and be ready should mankind need them once more."

"Did they?" Serena was captured by Luna's story, every inch of her being wanting more.

"Yes," there was determination in Luna's voice, "eight-thousand-years ago mankind first reached the stars, built great cities and castles upon the Moon, the planets and the other moons of our solar system. So great was the humans climb to glory but so was their fall when the Fallen attacked once more."

"The ruins on the Moon," Serena crossed herself, her heart saddened.

"But the Instrument of Peace and the Sailor Scouts came once more," a glow of triumph in Luna's golden eyes, "with the Instrument of Peace now known as Sailor Moon because they were her descendents, and while they couldn't stop the destruction of the Silver Millennium, they were able to destroy most of the Fallen, giving mankind a chance to rebuild their civilization again."

"Great!" Serena cheered but then something occurred to her, "Are you a Sailor Scout?"

"No, I'm a spirit guide," Luna looked shyly down, a tint of pink on her pale cheeks, "I and others like me were created by God to advice and help the Sailor Scouts and the Instrument of Peace."

An icy finger ran up Serena's spine, "You being here..." her soul chilled by her own guess, "the Fallen are going to attack again."

"The Fallen have already began their attack," Luna acknowledged, "they wormed their way into your society, corrupting your governments, closing your ears to the voice of God, barring the passage of the Holy Spirit."

Serena was horrified, "Something must be done!"

Luna grinned, "Something will be done," with that the black-haired lady leapt up and Serena watched her disappear into the canopy of the Tree of Knowledge. Minutes later, the pretty girl dropped back down, Serena taking a step back to give Luna room to land.

Curiosity filled Serena's baby blues at the object in Luna's hands, she couldn't see it clearly because it was veiled by a white cloth that shimmered like moonlight, "What is it?"

"This is the Instrument of Peace," Luna slowly held out the object to her companion, "and its meant for you, Serenity."

Serena's mouth dropped open, her shoulders sag and it took a few minutes before she could say, "Wh...wh...why?"

"Because your love for God is pure and your love for people unblemished," Luna's golden eyes show no lie, "it will fill the Instrument of Peace and allow you to transform into the leader of the Sailor Scouts, Sailor Moon."

Serena stared at the object in Luna's hands, her heat beating hard in her ears for she sensed her soul's attraction for the Instrument of Peace, just as it did for the beauty and peace of the Garden of Eden. Even more so her imagination was fired by images of heroic deeds done by her, of rescuing cute boys from the evil clutches of the Fallen and her picture on the cover of Time. Later, Serena couldn't remember when she took the Instrument of Peace from Luna's hands, the only thing she remembered was the cry of joy her soul released when the sacred object entered her body, filling her with the Holy Spirit.

"Serenity," the petite blonde felt a something sandy-papery lick her nose, "Serenity."

"Uhh..." Serena half opened her sleep heavy eyes, she saw two amber eyes surrounded by black fur, "Luna?"

"You need to wake up early, Serenity, so we can discuss your new duties," Luna's tone businesslike.

The Cat talked.

THE CAT TALKED!

"Aaaggghhh!" Serena screamed as she rolled away from Luna and off of the bed, flipping the black cat in the air when she took the bedcovers with her.

"Serenity!" One frightened baby blue peeked over the bed's edge, the blond head covered by the blankets, staring at the angry cat, "What was that all about?"

"Cats can't talk," Serena's voice muffled by the covers she held around her.

"Of course cats can't talk," Luna rolled her eyes, "I'm your spirit guide."

Serena's eye narrowed at the standing cat. Luna watched as Serena climbed onto the bed, a nasty look on the girl's face, "Could we cut out the..." Luna got no further as the blonde grabbed onto the cat's jaws.

"OKAY! SAMMY!" Serena shouted into Luna's mouth, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! NOW GET IN HERE AND DEBUG LUNA!"

Luna yanked her mouth out of Serena's grasp, "Sere...meow?" she heard the door open behind her.

"Serena, dear, what's wrong?" an alarmed Ilene stood in the entrance, her cyan housecoat hastily thrown on.

"Sammy bugged Luna!" Serena pointed at the black cat, righteousness burning in her eyes.

"I did not!" Sammy appeared behind his mother, holding Ricky in his arms, glaring defiantly at his sister.

"Yes, you did!" Serena kicked the covers from her body and stalked over to her mother and brother.

"It's too early for this fight," Ilene sighed before saying patiently to Serena, "What do you mean, dear?"

"Mom, I woke up this morning with Luna talking to me," Serena pleaded to her mother while shooting several glares at the twelve-year-old boy.

"You finally done it, Sis," Sammy let go of his pet raccoon and he walked around his mother, "you finally wound those blond buns of yours too tight and yanked what brains you had right out of your skull."

"You're saying you didn't do anything?" Serena used her greater height to tower over Sammy, her hands poise to strangle her brother.

"That's right, Bunny," Sammy might not have hit his growth sprit yet but he wasn't going let the five-inch difference between him and his sister intimidate him.

Serena growled wordlessly at the use of her childhood nickname, when she was five she thought the nickname her three-year-old brother gave her was cute, now she hated it. Ilene looked from Serena to Sammy, her motherly instincts telling her neither one of her children was lying. Finally she gently asked, "Serena, isn't it possible you just dreamt it?"

Serena froze and her head whipped around to gave her mother a hurt look, "Mom, I'm not lying!"

"I'm not saying you are, dear," Ilene put herself between her children, attempting to defuse the explosive situation, "I'm just saying that your waking mind tricked you."

Serena opened her mouth but a dangerous hiss coming from behind her stopped her. The petite blonde looked over her shoulder and she saw Ricky stalking toward Luna, the black cat's body rigid, tail straight and fur puffed out.

"Ricky!" Sammy took a step toward his pet but Serena was already in motion. With a fluid motion, the fourteen-year-old reached her bed, grabbed the raccoon by the scruff of his neck and tossed him at her brother.

Sammy caught his pet while Serena gathered Luna in her arms, Ilene frowned at her son, "Sammy, I told you to keep Ricky out of Serena's room."

"You better, squirt," Serena petted Luna to try and calm the growling cat, "or you'll get a coon-skinned cap for your next birthday."

It was daggers that Sammy glared at Serena, "Just keep your jinx away from me and Ricky," he looked up at their mother, "and I didn't do anything."

"I believe you, dear," Ilene nodded. She watched Sammy go up the hallway and into his room before turning her attention back to her daughter, "Serena, why don't you take your bath first?"

"Okay, Mom," Serena felt a little disappointed, she realized her mother was silently siding with her brother.

"After breakfast, we're going to the market," Ilene reached for the doorknob, "and then later I was thinking we could go see a matinee movie at a theater."

"Sounds like fun," Serena's attempt to sound cheerful came out flat. Ilene gave her daughter a long look before leaving the room and closing the door.

Serena put Luna back on the bed before she put on her housecoat, the black cat saying to her, "Thanks for saving me, Serenity."

"Because of you," an acidic tone to Serena words, "my mom thinks I'm a liar."

"Well, it was irrational for you to think your brother had put a mike and receiver on me," too late, Luna realized her mistake.

"Now you're calling me harebrained!" Serena snapped back before she opened the door and marched down the hall to the bathroom.

The bathroom was styled after a Japanese furo with two sections, a changing room where the toilet was also located and the tiled bathroom itself. When Ilene was pregnant with Serena, they were doing a project in Japan on the litter and wastefulness of the Japanese general public. The stay in Japan ended up being the longest stay in any one place for the Guerisser family and they reluctantly left the island nation once it was safe for Ilene and baby Serena to travel. So when they discovered the previous owner had installed this kind of bathroom in the brick house, they didn't think twice. Serena loved the bathroom for other reasons but right now, after scrubbing her body and washing her long hair while she sat on a stool, she was now stewing in the hot water.

When Serena came out of the bathroom, she found her father leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door, "Oh, Dad, I'm sorry I made you wait."

"It's okay, sweetums," Ken kiss his daughter's forehead. "Are you okay?"

Serena knew what her father was hinting at but she decided not to drag him into it, "I'm fine, Dad."

"Good." Ken and Serena switched places but before closing the bathroom door, he asked, "Can you think of any movies you want to go see?"

Serena thought for a moment, "I'll ask Molly if there are any good movies out right now."

"Check and see if your friend knows any good theaters we can go to," Ken added.

That got a giggle out of Serena, "Yeah, Dad, we don't want a repeat of what happened in Bombay."

Ken laughed with her and he closed the door. Serena felt better but the good mood disappeared once she was in her room again. Without looking at Luna, the teenager headed for her vanity, but that didn't stop the black cat from saying, "Serenity, we need to talk about your new duties."

Serena combed out the tangles in her long hair before replying, "That was a dream, Luna, not the real world."

"True, Serenity, your body was asleep," Luna countered as she padded over and sat next to the blonde, "but what you saw and what I told you was real."

"Then why haven't I heard anything about the Sailor Scouts in church?" Serena began the slow process of fashioning her hair in her twin-buns-and-ponytails style.

"Because the Holy Bible was written by men who have their own opinions about God, Jesus and a woman's place in a male dominated world," Luna's tone showed she didn't like the setup.

Finished with her hair, Serena picked up one of her lipsticks, "Prove it, Luna."

"What do you mean?" Luna looked up a Serena.

"Luna, I'm an ordinary teenage girl," Serena careful applied a light pink to her lips, "my biggest concerns are school and finding a boyfriend my father won't kill on sight."

"No, Serenity," Luna put her forepaws on Serena thighs, "you are now Sailor Moon, the vessel for the Instrument of Peace."

"That was in the dream," next Serena applied a touch of darker pink to her eyelids, "in the real world the loony bin is full of people saying they are Superman."

"You accepted the Instrument of Peace," Luna's frustration was being to show.

"That was in the dream," Serena pronounced each word carefully, she looked in her mirror and decided it was enough makeup since she was going to be with her family all day.

"You want proof," Luna watched the petite blonde go over to her bed.

"No proof," Serena picked up her bedcovers, "No Sailor Moon."

Luna waited as Serena fixed her bed before jumping on it. With a feat of acrobatics the black cat did a backflip and Serena saw something materialize in the air and drop at the cat's paws.

"Ssseeeqqq," Serena let out a joyful sound and she picked up the beautifully crafted red broach with a white cross dividing it in equal quarters, each quarter had a diamond studded white drove carrying an emerald olive branch.

"Hold it up high and say, 'Moon Holy Power,' Luna's golden eyes show hope.

Serena lifted the broach up, she opened her mouth to say the magic words but instead she started to giggle.

A blank look appeared on Luna's face before she reacted, "Now what?"

"It's...silly," Serena's giggles fragmented her words, "It...it sounds...like something...from a magical girl anime."

"I assure you, Serenity, it isn't silly," Luna gave Serena a flat look.

"Couldn't...God come up with...something better?" Serena regained control over her giggles, "It sounds so pagan."

"The phrasing for the transformations rituals was decided during the Silver Millennium," Luna frowned, "and they reflect the alliance of those sky kingdoms, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune."

Serena looked at the broach for a long time, Luna didn't like the look on the blonde's face, "Please, Serenity, say the words and your doubts will melt away."

What Serena was remembering was how in those magical girl anime, once the girl said those transformation words, she was drafted into whatever war there was going on between good and evil. Luna's jaw hit the bed when the petite blonde pocketed the broach while saying, "I'll think about it."

"WHAT!"

Serena opened her mouth but a knock came from the door, "Serena, is there someone in there with you?"

"No, Dad," Serena turned away from Luna and opened her bedroom door, her Dad was wearing a light green skirt and blue jeans, "I'm thinking of joining the Drama Club and I was trying out different voices."

"Oh," Ken studied his daughter for a bit before adding, "Your Mom sent me up here to let you know breakfast is ready."

"Great!" Serena rushed pass her father and he heard her thundering down the stairs. He stared at Luna for a minute before he followed his daughter.

"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to end up the worse kept secret in this house," Luna jumped off the bed and left the bedroom.

The late afternoon sun shone through Serena's bedroom window, she lay on her back upon her bed, her right hand slowly rubbing her hotdog, popcorn and soda stuffed stomach, the full feeling combined with the sun warmed room making her sleepy. Through half-closed eyes she allowed her mind to wander over the movie she and her family watched and the theater they saw it in, Heaven's Crown Theater. The place was amazing, not only was it a theater but it had a huge arcade center, karaoke booths and an ice cream parlor. After the movie the family spent time in each place, the petite blonde discovering the place was family-owned, the theater handled by the parents while the arcade center and karaoke booths were handled by their son and the ice cream parlor was operated by their daughter.

"Andy..." Serena lazily whispered, an image of the young blond man floated in her mind. He was older than she was but that didn't stop the teen from smiling, "such a dreamboat..."

"Is that all you are going to do for the rest of the day?"

From the corner of her eye, Serena saw Luna hop onto the bed and walk toward her, an unfriendly look on her cat's face. When the feline was close, the petite blonde rolled, picked up the surprised spirit guide and softly held Luna to her chest while slowly petting the soft black fur, "Don't be mad at me, Luna."

"I not mad at you, Serenity, just disappointed," Luna snuggled closer to the teen. "After the way you and your mother reacted to my magic, the outpouring of pure love that came from both of you, I was certain you would accept your calling without hesitation."

"What was that all about, anyway?" there was no anger there, just curiosity from Serena, "It was like I found a long lost friend."

"It means your mother's family are descendants of the survivors from the Moon Kingdom," Luna heard the beating of Serena's heart in her ears.

"You mean we're royalty?" Thoughts of anime plotlines danced in Serena's mind.

"No," amusement laced Luna's negative, "you would have reacted if you were a descendant of a kitchen maid, who was born on the Moon."

"Oh, poo," dreams of white gowns, diamond crowns and dashing princes crossed out in Serena's daydreams. Instead she followed a different trek, "The way you appeared in my dreams, Luna, was that your true form?"

"Yes..." Luna was becoming sleepy, "but I don't use it often. Most humans either ignore or have positive reactions to cats, my humanoid form would cause unwanted complications."

"You mean boys hitting on you," Serena giggled at the noncommittal sound from Luna, "I would think you would enjoy it, you are so beautiful."

"My job is to be the spirit guide for Sailor Moon," a slice of disapproval leaked into Luna's tone, "and unlike a certain someone, it is all I want."

This comment perked Serena's interest, "There are other spirit guides?"

"Of course," Luna's voice slipped into lecture mode, "the Sailor Scouts have a group of spirit guides, their job is to help those Sailor Scouts in need of guidance. For example, Sailor V has a white cat as her spirit guide, named Artemis," the note of disapproval was back.

Serena knitted her brow, "Who's Sailor V?"

Luna's eyes open wide, she twisted her head so she could look into Serena's peaceful face, "You don't know about Sailor V?" the cat's tone was incredulous, "Don't you have newspapers up there in the Yukon? Don't you watch the news on television?"

"Mom says what shows up in newspapers and on television are distorted truths and outright lies," Serena's voice no longer sleepy, her eyes fully open, "if the truth was really printed in the newspapers and on television, the people would revolt against their governments."

This was something Luna didn't expect, "Your mother has some strong convictions."

"Mom home taught me and Sammy," Serena continued to pet Luna, "she said she didn't trust schools where we were staying," then her voice became solemn, "and I wish she and Dad hadn't changed their minds."

"Why did they?" It wasn't hard for Luna to see the loss in Serena's eyes.

"They said we were becoming too wild," Serena pulled Luna to her head and buried her face in the silky fur, "that we needed to learn to be part of society, go to school, interact with people and make permanent friends."

"You loved traveling about and living in exotic places with your parents and brother," Luna's tone showed she was starting to realize that Serena calling herself 'an average teenager' was different from what others would say.

"Yes," Serena pulled her head back, "but now I find a whole new thing being laid before me, a destiny I didn't see coming." Before Luna could say anything, the petite blonde shifted gears, "So who is Sailor V?"

There was a long pause, then the tone of disapproval was back in Luna's words, "You were suppose to be the first, Serenity, the Instrument of Peace is always activated first, but does Artemis follow the plan, does he follow tradition?" Luna's voice picking up volume, "No! He decided on his own to put Sailor V in play, his excuse being she would be a decoy for you, getting them to concentrate on her instead of you, and did it work?" Serena blinked as the black cat slip out of her grasp and stood, the little body quivering in rage. "No! Instead it blows whatever element of surprise we had and now the Fallen are . . ." suddenly Luna clammed up, her golden eyes filling with dread.

The frown on Serena's lips show she understood quite well why Luna stopped, she realized the spirit guide was about to spill-the-beans on something she was keeping from her. The petite blonde sat up on her bed looked hard at the black cat, "The Fallen are doing what, Luna?"

The authoritative tone in Serena's voice, the edge of command, it took Luna by surprise but it also put hope in her little heart, "The Fallen are hunting for you, Serenity."

"How?" Serena's hand reached under her silvery blouse, her fingers touching her cross. It was an inkling, a subconscious feeling Serena felt, of how the Fallen seemed to use violence for its solutions.

"Any girl..." Luna steadily spoke the words, "any teenage girl, whom the Fallen consider to have the qualifications to be the Instrument of Peace, they are killing."

Location: Dawes Park, Evanston

It was a fine-looking park with plenty of beach plus picnic tables and cast-iron barbecue stands. Sammy was the first out of the SUV, Ricky in his pet carrier in one hand and volleyball in the other. Ken and Ilene were the next out but they both turned to look at their daughter, the glassy worried look on the petite blonde's face troubled them. "Serena, dear," Ilene touched her daughter's knee, "we're at the park."

"Oh!" exclaimed, a smiling Serena baled out of the SUV carrying an inflated swimming ring and her hot pink beach towel. Like her parents and her brother, the teen was already in her swimsuit, her itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot-bikini.

"Are you sure we made the right decision buying something that small?" Ken watched his daughter trying to catch up with her brother.

"Yes," Ilene grabbed the rest of the beach towels, "Besides she won't be the only girl out there in a bikini and I'm sure some of the girls will be wearing something much more daring."

Ken brightened at that thought, "That's true," he turned and got the beach umbrella out before locking up the SUV.

In her brother's wake, Serena heard the last bit of her parents' conversation and her forced cheerfulness slipped from her face, her baby blues return to a somber look. She couldn't forget what Luna told her, it haunted her sleep and banished from her the uplifting feeling of going to church for the first time in two years. She knew her mother and father were concerned over the dark demeanor she showed at dinner and at breakfast, their worry increased by her obvious inability to draw comfort from the church service. The senior pastor, Father O'Connor, tried to uplift her spirit with an Irish greeting but she could only give him a pained smile, her ears full of the topics she heard other churchgoers speak about:

'Girls butchered by serial killers.'

'Boys walking into schools and shooting their teachers and their classmates.'

'Teenager girls poisoning themselves with drugs, selling their bodies for a hit.'

'Boys spending hours staring at a video monitor, playing games that taught them to rape, torture and murder people without mercy.'

'A young body twisting slowly from an end of a rope.'

This news only increased Serena's troubled conscious, her heart bleeding because of their darkness and what could be causing them to happen. After dinner Serena ignored Luna's attempt to engage her in more discussion, the spirit guide finally going as silent as her charge, those golden eyes patiently watching the gold-haired girl go to bed. In the morning the black cat didn't even try to say anything for the melancholy look remained in Serena's eyes.

'Can I make a difference?'

'Will more die if I do nothing?'

'Will they still die if I do something?'

'Can I give them back their hope and faith?'

"Serena!"

Serena's dark musings were driven back by the cheerful shout, instinctively she smiled at Molly as the bikinied redhead came up to her and hugged the blonde. When they parted, the green-eyed girl asked, "So how was the movie?"

"It was great!" Serena's eyes sparkled with teenage glee, "And Heaven's Crown Theater was wonderful! The arcade center, the karaoke booths, the ice cream parlor, everything!"

"Remember Andy," Molly held her hands to her cheeks.

"How could I forget such a cute guy," Serena gushed, resulting with both girls squealing and blushing.

Standing in front of the two spastic girls, Sammy rolled his eyes, "Girls."

Serena's parents reach their children just as Molly's parents did, the man with the dark brown hair asked, "I assume these are our new neighbors?"

"Yes, Papa," Molly's subdued her teen fantasies, her voice becoming formal, "Mama, Papa, this is the Guerisser family, Ken, Ilene, Serena and Sammy," then she turned to Serena's parents, "Mr. and Mrs. Guerisser, Serena, Sammy, these are my parents, Morgan and Mary Baker."

Everyone exchanged greetings, shook hands, Mary saying to Serena, "I love your hairstyle, Serena, the twin buns and ponytails really makes you look sweet."

"Thank you, I saw an anime character with it and Mom helped me to get the look right," Serena noticed both Morgan and Mary looked too young to have a child as old as Molly, the swimsuits they wore showed bodies still captured by the sunrise years, the white beach and crystal blue waters of Lake Michigan behind them.

"Over this way," Morgan waved slightly behind his back, "we've setup our barbecue over there and there's plenty of room for more beach blankets."

"C'mon, Serena, this way!" Molly tugged the petite blonde away from where the grownups were heading. It was just behind a huge, ancient piece of driftwood the redhead took her friend, "We can put our beach blankets together here and have a little privacy and still be close enough to our parents to know when the food is ready."

"Cool!" The shadows upon her soul disappeared under Molly's sunny disposition. As they spread out their beach towels, Serena could see from their hideout dozens of groups of people having a great time eating food, playing games and swimming.

"We better get some suntan lotion on you before you end up with a sunburn," Molly held up a rubbery yellow bottle and from her friend's expression Serena knew the redhead was worried about the whiteness of her skin.

"Okay," Serena lay on her stomach and undid her bikini top, "When I was up in the Yukon Territory, we didn't dare try to do anything like this or we would've ended up covered by flies and mosquitoes."

"I can imagine," Serena heard Molly pop open the bottle. "So what do you think of my parents?"

"They're groovy," Serena watched a group of really cute blond boys and one pretty girl play volleyball against some equally pretty girls, her ears picking up the sound of Molly oiling her hands. A thought came to Serena and she asked, "Molly, can I ask you a personal question?"

"That's what friends do," Serena felt a lazy ribbon of lotion applied to her back.

"Is Andy your boyfriend?" the way Molly knew his nickname had Serena wondering.

"Nah, he's too old," Molly began to spread the lotion on Serena's back, "besides he's going to be our teacher at school this year."

"A teacher?" Serena was surprised, "That young!"

"You are going to Juuban High School, right?" Molly began to work the lotion into Serena's back.

"Yeah." Serena's eyes rolled into the back of her head, "Ohhh, Molly, that feels so good."

"Thanks, Mama and Papa say I have the healer's touch," Molly began to use just her fingertips on a knot of tense muscles she noticed near the base of Serena's neck. "Anyway, our previous biology teacher, Mister Parker, suffered a busted appendix. Andy is going to Northwestern University and has been a student teacher at our school, but because Mister Parker decided to take an early retirement this close to the beginning of school, the school board decided Andy would take over the duties as our biology teacher on a temporary basis until they could find someone to replace him."

"I think I could get used to school if all of my teachers are as cute as Andy," a dreamy tone to Serena's voice as she returned to her original line of thought, "So you don't have a boyfriend?"

"I haven't kissed him yet," the knot of muscles Molly was working on gave way to her magic fingers, "but I do have a boy I consider a friend."

"Who?" Serena felt her body melt under the Molly's massage.

"Well, he's really smart although in a geeky sort-of-way," Molly's hands now working on Serena's lower back, "but I have know him since elementary school and he's the only boy I know who doesn't think girls have a contagious disease."

"Is he here?" Serena opened her eyes to stare at the youths playing volleyball.

"Did you want me to do your legs," Serena nodded so Molly poured more lotion on her hands and began to work on her friend's right leg. "No, Melvin is on vacation with his parents. They're visiting relatives in California. You'll get to meet him tomorrow at the school assembly."

"Melvin, Hmmm..." Serena was in heaven, she was going to hate it when Molly stopped, "I hope I can make a good impression with him, it would be nice if we all could be friends."

"It would," Molly began working on Serena's other leg. She looked up and saw where her friend was gazing, "Any of those boys catch your fancy?"

"Huh?" the word floated from Serena's lips, "Oh, I was just thinking how brave the girl was playing with the boys instead of the girls, although the twin boys are doing a good job helping her." As the petite blonde brought more of her brain cells to concentrate on the group, something new occurred to her, "The twins look like they are related to her, in fact the whole group look alike."

"They should, that's the Kennedy clan," Serena eyes flash wide and she looked over her shoulder at her grinning friend. With a giggle Molly said, "No, silly, they aren't those Kennedys. No, they're just a big family of brothers and sisters."

"Ummm..." Serena looked back at the group, held up a finger and began to count them, "One, two, three, four, five, six, I count five boys and one girl."

"It does seem that way," once more Serena looked at Molly, her friend's tone deceptive, but a playful slap on her thigh distracted her, "There! You are all ready to get a tan."

"Thanks, Molly!" Serena went to a kneeling position on her blanket and the redhead gave her the bottle. Working the lotion into her arms, shoulders, chest and tummy, Serena asked, "Do you know the Kennedy family?"

"Not all of them," Molly's green eyes looking at the group in question, "The three oldest, John, Robert and Edward are supposed to be good-natured lugs and the sister is supposed to be really prissy but watch out for the twins."

Once more Serena noticed the sly tone returning to Molly's voice, "Why?"

"I went through Nichols Middle School just after Gilbert and Alex moved on to high school," Molly leaned closer, "and Nichols was still buzzing about how the two were big time flirts and pranksters."

"No lie," Serena took a quick glance at the twins, afraid they might notice hers and Molly's gazes

"Truth," Molly held up her right hand, "I have lost count of the number of stories I heard about Gilbert and Alex confusing students and teachers as to which one is which."

"They look that alike?" to Serena those matching faces took on sinister guises and she quickly tied her bikini top back on.

"From what I heard they look alike, talk alike, flirt alike and kiss alike," Molly's smile grew wider. "I think the two are competing to see who can steal the most kisses from the girl students."

"Err..." Despite the summer sun a chill crawled up Serena's spine but she wasn't sure if it was fear or anticipation, "Do you think they will keep doing it in high school."

"Melvin told me they have," hint of the Cheshire Cat in Molly's expression, "some of the boyfriends are irked about the twins but so far none of the girls they've kissed have complained to the vice-principal," her green eyes glowing brightly, "and I can almost guarantee Ami Shabon is going to attract the twins like moths to a flame."

A new name, "Who's Ami?" Molly gave Serena a strange look, like the petite blonde grew a second head, "What?"

"You'd have had to have lived in the boondocks," Molly's eyebrows touching her hair, "not to have heard about Ami Shabon, the Great Brain."

The Great Brain, the title sounded familiar to Serena but she couldn't put a face to it, "Is she some kind of super genius?"

Molly scrambled to her feet, shielded her eyes to look about the beach, "Yeah, in fact," she pointed to the left of the volleyball game, "there she is with her mother."

Serena stood and did the same thing as the redhead, "Where?"

"Under the beach umbrella with the Japanese ocean motif." Then Molly frowned, "Damn, she lay down behind her mother."

It took a second for Serena to find the woman under the stylized shade, her long raven hair drifting in the gentle breeze, a opened hardback book held in her hands and a one-piece Prussian blue swimsuit on her trim body, "Does Ami look like her mother?"

"Not even close," Molly giggled, "you should've heard the rumors sprout up when Ami and her mother moved here, with the mother becoming a doctor at Northwestern Hospital and her daughter enrolling at Nichols Middle School."

"Oh," Serena tried to get a better look at the Shabon family, "what kind of rumors?"

"Well," Molly's voice conspiratory, "after Ami aced the National High School Test with a perfect score, some students started a nasty rumor that her mother wanted the perfect daughter, so she created a superhuman clone."

A ball of ice foamed in Serena's stomach, another anime plotline coming to her gray matter, "Like in Bubblegum Crisis 2040?"

"Err..." Molly perplexed by Serena's comparison, "I don't understand."

"It's an anime series," Serena explained, "Mom and Dad always end up in places where television reception is really bad, so we get a lot of DVDs and I have a huge collection of anime."

"Really?" Serena nodded at Molly's question, "Then I'll bet you going to take the Japanese language class?"

"Yep," Serena turned to Molly, "I want to be able to understand anime without reading the subtitles."

"Why?" Molly puzzled over Serena's explanation.

"Because my daughter thinks of herself as a wayward Japanese," both girls turned to find Ken coming around the ancient piece of driftwood, "I think it's because she was born in Japan."

"C'mon, Dad, what do you expect," a mischievous grin appeared on Serena's face, "you and Mom move around so much that I have to think of some place as my homeland."

"Which is why we decided to give you and your brother a place you could call home," Ken gave his daughter a peck on the forehead, "Dinner's ready, Bunny."

"Bunny?" Serena made a face at Molly's exclamation.

"Its a nickname given to her by her brother," Ken explained, "but now she hates it."

"I don't hate it when you use it, Dad," Serena corrected, "just when annoying brothers do," the look she gave Molly showed she didn't want the redhead to use it either.

"I like Serena anyway," Molly sweated under Serena's hot glare.

"Let's go you two," Ken turned and led the way.

Both girls followed but as they walked, Serena whispered, "You were talking about Ami."

"Right," Molly's expression changed, "so Melvin started a rumor of his own, saying that Ami was such a great brain because her father abandoned her mother for a eighteen-year-old piece of trailer trash," Serena could tell the redhead was proud of her future kissable boyfriend, "now when classmates call Ami, the Great Brain, they're not doing the nasty to her."

"That's a nice thing for Melvin to do," Serena took hold of Molly's hand, "he sounds like he is into this kind of thing."

"Melvin is usually in charge of the school's rumor mill," Molly interlaced her fingers with Serena's fingers, "I think it's because both of his parents are police detectives."

"Ohhh..." More anime plotlines ran through Serena's head.

"Melvin is also a computer hacker," Molly's whisper dropping even lower, "the rumor he started to help Ami came from her school records and her mother's divorce records."

"Isn't that kind of illeg..." then Serena remembered what Molly said about Melvin's parents, "his parents kept him out of trouble."

"From what I understand," Molly put her mouth next to the blonde's ear, "as long as Melvin doesn't try to profit from his hacking, he can do it as much as he likes."

"That is interesting," indeed it was to Serena but then a worried look appeared on her face, "he must have been the most intelligent boy at your middle school, Molly nodded, a tint of blush to her cheeks, "but weren't you worried Ami might be attracted to his intelligence and try to steal him from you?"

Molly shook her head, saying, "Ami is a Goth Girl with a loathing for boys."

Now it was Serena's turn to look confused, "What's a Goth Girl?"

"You don..." Molly stopped herself, "you'll see when you get to school Tuesday."

Molly and Serena broke off their conversation as they joined their families, but the petite blonde looked at them and then she looked at the rest of the holiday-makers, her gaze picking out those her age and younger.

Location: Guerisser Residence

Serena entered her bedroom with a feeling of foreboding. It was silly, she thought, for her to feel this way in a place with pink wallpaper decorated with white bunnies and doves, the furniture a cheery white and lavender, and the red fire of dusk shinning through the window. Maybe her trepidation came from the black cat sitting on her bed's pink covers.

Luna opened her eyes and her amber gaze saw the look on the petite blonde's face, her mind becoming alert, "Have you decided, Serenity?"

Closing the bedroom door behind her, Serena sat on her bed and begun to slowly scratch the top of Luna's head, "Luna, why did you pick me?"

"I didn't," Luna's expression softened, "your heart did, Serenity, it cried out in joy when it was exposed to God's love for his creation. It was your soul knowing God's need for you to fulfill your destiny when it accepted the Instrument of Peace."

"What about my family, my friends?" Serena's hand leaving Luna and she reached under her lime-colored blouse to grip her cross, "Won't the Fallen strike at them once I become Sailor Moon?"

"No," Luna moved closer to the petite blonde, "you and the Sailor Scouts will be cloaked in a disguise spell, not even those close to you will recognize you unless you reveal yourself to them."

"I don't...I don't know if I could hurt anyone," Serena confessed. "The one time Dad took me hurting, I must've cried for almost an hour when I killed a buck deer."

"You won't have to, Serenity, not mortally anyway," Luna placed her forepaws on in the crook of Serena's right arm. "The Instrument of Peace has the ability to heal, both physically and spiritually. It will be up to the Sailor Scouts to kill those who refuse God's grace."

The insides of Serena tightened at the thought of her being Sailor Moon would also turn other girls into killers, "What if I decide not to become Sailor Moon?"

"Then the Sailor Scouts will fail," Luna kept her voice calm, "they will awaken one by one but without the Light from the Instrument of Peace to guide them, they will be overcome by the Darkness."

An angst-ridden smile appeared on Serena's face, "So this cup can't pass me by?"

Luna recognized the passage immediately, "No, Serenity, it is not possible for this cup to pass you by without you drinking from it," then the black cat hopped onto Serena's arm and she rubbed her head against the blonde's head, "I'm sorry."

For a long time the two sat in silence before Serena spoke, "I always thought of myself as a Christian without thinking what being a Christian really meant. Being a Catholic only seemed to mean to me that we had a more elaborate way of praying and doing Mass." While the words left her mouth, her left slowly rubbed Luna's back, "Now I'm starting to see it as something more than sermons and prayers."

"Take this and eat, this is my body," Luna began the words.

"Drink from it, all of you for this is my blood," Serena finished, then she added, "I never thought about what those words really meant until now."

Luna knew Serena was ready, in her golden eyes she saw the war of emotions going on in her charge's baby blues, the instinct for survival battling against the desire to follow her Christian beliefs. A little push would commit the petite blonde but the black cat decided fate should decide it, not her. Instead she said, "Serenity, I'm not going to push you anymore. You are the Instrument of Peace, but I will let you decide on your own if you will combat the Fallen as Sailor Moon."

"Thank you, Luna."

Location: Baker Residence

Monday passed without anything more than mundane crisis going on. Ricky getting into Serena's room again, Sammy tying a bell to Luna's tail and Serena visiting Molly's home, a house similar to Serena's home except for the bathroom. Molly's bedroom was just as girlish as Serena's room, except for the desktop computer on her desk but stickers of teen idols covered even that machine. On the redwood backyard patio, the two girls drank iced tea but the outward cheerfulness Serena plastered on her features didn't stop Molly from feeling something wasn't right with her friend.

"What's wrong, Serena?" Molly looked over the rim of her sunglasses.

"Eh," Serena mumbled around her straw before she put a goofy grin on her face, "What do you mean, Molly?"

"Just now you looked miserable to me," Molly reached across the white table where they sat, her hands taking Serena's left hand, "If something is making you feel that way, you can tell me, after all we're friends, right?"

"Of course!" Serena sounded too cheerful to Molly's liking while the petite blonde waved her free hand across her face, "I'm just worried about tomorrow."

"About school?" the redhead relaxed at Serena's nod.

"It is my first day at any school," Serena pointed out, "I've been home schooled by Mom and Dad until now, so I'm a little nervous about making a good impression with the teachers and my classmates."

"You'll do fine, Serena," Molly put her sunglasses amongst her red hair, "Juuban High School is a fairly new school so it will have up-to-date classrooms and the Kennedy twins are probably the worst you are going to run into." Then a gossipy look appeared on Molly's face, "but, according to Melvin, we have two transfer students, too."

"Besides me?" Interest aglow in the eyes of the petite blonde in the yellow sundress.

"Yep!" Molly leaning closer to her friend, "And get this, one of them is royalty."

"Cool..." Serena followed her friend's actions, their heads almost touching.

"Her name is Mina Charity Spencer," Serena eyes bugging out at Molly, "Yeah, she's a Spencer just like Princess Di and from what Melvin found on the Internet, her mother is working for BP here in Chicago while her father is working at the British Embassy in DC."

"How come she going to school here in Evanston?" Serena asked.

"Melvin thinks she's being sent here to keep her out of trouble," Molly answered.

"A wild girl?" Serena guessed.

"She already has a boy toy and she is only fourteen," Serena's jaw dropped, "and according to the tabloids, the only reason she isn't pregnant nine times over is because she has one of those internal birth control thingies inside of her."

"A real minx, eh?" Serena reconnected her jaw.

"I think most of the girls at school will be glad she already has a boyfriend," Molly took a sip of her ice tea, "this Spencer sounds just as bad as her cousins, William and Harry."

"Willing to impel herself on anything wearing pants," Molly nodded at Serena estimation. Now the petite blonde changed the subject a little, "What about the other transfer?"

"Alithea Adaunde Wood," Molly answered, "She is kind of a tragic figure, her parents died in a car accident last year."

Serena's heart sank and her black mood returned, "That's bad."

"She was going to the Catholic school here, Saint Mary's School For Proper Ladies," Molly's own green eyes were sad, "but because of financial problems caused by their deaths, she was forced to move to Chicago where she is staying with her grandmother while commuting here to Juuban High School to finish her education."

This puzzled Serena, "Why finish here instead of a school in Chi-town?"

"Beats me," Molly shook her head, "Melvin hasn't found any reason although he thinks it's because of her looks."

"Looks?" Serena frowned, a nasty thought getting into her head.

"Melvin has seen her school photo attached to her computer file and although she is listed as African-American," a knowing expression on Molly's face, "she has red hair, green eyes and milky golden skin."

"Light enough to pass..." Serena's eyes narrowed to an icy glare, "They think she isn't good enough for them."

"She is too white to be black," Molly looked at the natural rock water fountain her dad built, "at least that is what Melvin thinks is the answer. Plus her new address places her deep inside Chicago's black community."

"That's terrible," disgust in Serena's tone, "it's what's inside that counts, not the outside."

"Like the song says," Molly returned her gaze to the petite blonde, "'that's the way it is.'"

"Maybe someone should change them," a very serious tone to Serena's words.

Too serious for the short-pants boy sitting on the fence, Sammy was eavesdropping on the two girls' conversation and getting bored by it, at least until Serena's last statement. Grinning a evil grin the twelve-year-old slipped down into Molly's backyard, he grabbed Serena's glass of ice tea and dumped its contents on his sister's head, shouting, "I thee baptize you, Queen Bunny the First of Earth, with the water of the Holy Grail. Now what are your first commands?"

"My hair!" Serena felt her drooping buns touch her ears and she whirled, knocking her chair to one side as she chased after her already retreating brother.

Molly watched, frozen, her green eyes wide as Sammy used the fence crossbeams to hoist his smaller body over it. It was when Serena high jumped the same obstacle that the redhead unfroze, "Maybe I should talk Serena into joining the track-and-field team, she could give Alex a run for her money."

Location: Guerisser Residence

"This is the Mark and Brian show, telecast from beautiful Los Angles to all of our sister stations throughout the U.S. of A."

Bang!

Serena's palm slammed the alarm button hard, a pause before a muffled, "Ouch," came from the face buried in the pink pillow.

Fifteen minutes later.

Ilene looked in on her sleeping daughter, cheerfully saying, "Rise and shine, Serena, it's time for school."

Two minutes later, a muffled voice asked, "Why does Mom want to start our lessons this early?"

"Serenity," Luna jumped from the window still onto the bed, "Isn't this your first day of sch . . ."

"OHMYGOD!" Blonde exits stage left, black cat exits stage right, bratty brother becomes road kill and father makes a hasty escape from the bathroom before getting an eyeful of his daughter's birthday suit.

Fifteen minutes later.

"I'm going to be late!" Two doors open and slammed shut. Luna watched from the safety of the window sill as the human tornado dressed within the guidelines of the school's dress code, a knee-length sunflower yellow skirt, a slightly darker blouse, knee-high white socks and a pair of pink tennis shoes.

"Don't run down the stairs, dear," Ilene said as soon as she heard her daughter's door slam shut again.

"I'm late!" Serena thundered down the stairs and made a beeline for the breakfast table. The girl powered through her breakfast of scrambled eggs, a waffle, an apple and OJ. She gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek while picking up her Fruit Basket lunch bucket.

"I'll bet you don't know where your high school is?" Sammy smirked.

"Three blocks from here, so there," Serena stuck her tongue out at her brother

"I'm taking your brother over to Nichols Middle School, I could drop . . ."

"Can't wait, Dad!" Serena gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek before bolting out the front door with her midnight blue Saint Tail backpack on her back, this time using both her hands to clear the fence.

With her twin ponytails streaming behind her like banners, Serena ran toward Juuban, she hardly noticed the cool morning air of the late summer day, the sun splashing the world around her in bright colors. Even though she knew there was going to be a school assembly for the first period, she didn't want to blow her chance to met Molly's boyfriend, Melvin. When she saw the school entrance and she didn't hear the chime of the school clock, the petite blonde smiled.

It was all a blur to Serena, really, a red, green and honey blur that knocked her to the ground, her mind shocked by the double impact of concrete and the body falling on top of her. It was uncomfortable, the first thing Serena thought, laying on her backpack. At least she didn't hurt so there were no cuts from the fall. She could tell her face was pressed firmly between two soft round, "Breasts?"

"Girl, are you okay?" Serena felt the resonant voice come from the chest pressed to her face.

"Hum-hum," was the best Serena could do.

"Thank the Lord," Carefully the girl knelt next to Serena and helped the petite blonde to a sitting position. "Sorry about almost turning you into street pizza."

"It's my fault too . . ." The vibrant green eyes, the creamy honey skin and the fiery red hair pinned back in a massive ponytail, only the slightly larger nose and fuller lips clenched in Serena's mind who she collided with, "You're . . ."

The first chime of the school clock sent Serena into a panic, "Christ, I'm late!" Blinding she grabbed for the closest lunch bucket and she bolted for the main entrance. Dimly was the petite blonde aware of another set of footfalls just behind her.

Location: School Auditorium, Juuban High School

Not since India had Serena seen a space large enough to fit this many people; the unending crescendo of good cheer did put a positive spin on her search for Molly.

"Serena, over here!"

The petite blonde caught the words, her head twisting left to find her friend standing on one of the auditorium seats, her arms waving in the air, with a brown-haired boy next to her helping the redhead keep her balance.

Once Serena maneuvered around in the sea of youth, Molly got down and hugged her blonde friend, saying, "Glad you found us."

"We saw you when you entered the auditorium because of your distinctive hairstyle," the boy next to Molly said, his coke bottle glasses enlarging his eyes to anime size, "but we couldn't get your attention until you were close enough."

"Serena," Molly broke the hug and turned to face the boy wearing the silvery gray pants, snowy blue shirt and Paul Simon bowtie, "This is my friend, Melvin Adam Holmes," the boy stuck out his hand, "Melvin, this is my new friend, Serenity Hope Guerisser."

Serena shook his hand, grinning, "So this is your future boyfriend, eh?"

Both Molly and Melvin blushed hard, the redhead putting her hand to her face in an attempt to hide it, giggling, while Melvin laughed into the air, still shaking Serena's hand as his free hand scratched the back of his head.

Before either one of them could respond to Serena's statement, someone tapped on the mike up where the school faculty stood, "Please, will the students find a seat and settle down."

Quickly Serena, Molly and Melvin claimed their seats in this massive game of musical chairs, once the confusion settled down the speaker identified himself, "For our first year students benefit, I'm vice-principle Daniel Webster Bosworth," he gave the students an evil smile, "I hope I won't need to meet any of you on a regular basis since I'm in charge of discipline." The man in the brown three-piece business suit paused to allow a nervous laugh to sweep through the students, "Now let me introduce our principle, Erik Leif Bannock."

A mild applause came from the second to fourth year students, as a conservatively dressed man with a thick mane of graying black hair replaced the shorter man at the podium. "I see some of our returning students are already trying to butter me up," another nervous laugh coming from the students. "To our first year students, I welcome you to Juuban High School. I hope that I and the school faculty will be able to fan the flames of learning within each of you," the man extended a hand to the seated adults that shared the stage with him, Serena able to pick Andrew's face from the rest, "as well as remind you of your obligation to your parents, to your country and to your God to become contributing citizens and the brightest of lights to guide others." The students cheered at the principle's speech and he waited until it died down before continuing, "If any of you have any difficulties either at school or outside of school, please talk to one of our councilors," two men and two women stood up from the faculty, "I'm sure they will give you the type of aid which will help you overcome your problems."

Of the four councilors, Serena attention was glued to the woman with hip long black hair held in place by a turquoise hair band at the nape of her slim neck. Even from this distance, the petite blonde noticed this woman's beauty spoke of centuries before the white man came to the New World, unearthly, otherworldly. Then for a second their gazes met, bottomless black eyes to baby blues, and the teenager held her breath as a light filled her soul and overflowed it. When the gazes parted, Serena let out her breath, "Oh my stars and garters."

"Eh?" Molly heard Serena's exclamation and looked at her wide-eyed friend.

Melvin leaned forward and saw where Serena looked, "Oh, that's the school's new councilor, Wynona Sioux Tempus, she's a Oglala Lakota Sioux from the Pine Ridge Reservation."

"She's a Native-American?" Serena looked at Melvin.

"Yes," Melvin returned his attention to Principal Bannock as the councilors returned to their seats.

"I'm also informing you of a special study being done by Northwestern University," a young man seated next to Andrew stood up. "It is an in-depth of high school students and this young man, Darien Mamoru Terra-Daniels, will be the coordinator of the part of the study involving Juuban High School, Saint Mary's School For Proper Girls and Saint Mark's School For Proper Boys." Like a hornet's nest the room buzzed with surprised voices and like before Principal Bannock waited for it to die down, "If anyone has legitimate objections to being a part of this study, please speak to one of our councilors, but I hope instead that you would feel privileged to be a part of this scientific study."

"Jesus," exclaimed Melvin, "I didn't see this coming."

Molly's eyes widen at that admission, "You didn't?

"Nope, but isn't it Great!" Melvin's glee was noticeable, "I'm going to end up with lots of data I never could get on my own."

Molly rolled her emerald eyes but Serena ignored the rest of their conversation as she concentrated her senses on the black-haired young man. His features look tight, his steely blue eyes in constant motion, to the petite blonde he didn't look like he was enjoying the limelight.

"What do you think of him?" Molly's question interrupted Serena's study.

"Who?" Serena turned her gaze to her friend.

"Terra-Daniels, silly," both Molly and Melvin had knowing looks on their faces.

Serena made a face, "I don't like him."

"Why?" the redhead was surprised, the bespectacled boy looked interested, "He's a hunk of beefcake compared to most of the other boys here at school." Then she smiled at Melvin, "present company excluded, of course."

"Of course," Melvin could only share Molly's gaze for a few seconds before he found his shoes interesting to look at, his face flushed.

Molly returned her attention to Serena, "Well?"

"He just doesn't strike me as the scientific type," Serena's look was stern, "In fact, he looks like someone is holding his feet to a blowtorch."

"C'mon, Serena," Molly's eyebrows met her wavy hair, "aren't you being a little harsh?"

"You asked for my opinion," Serena shrugged her shoulders.

As the threesome talked, Principal Bannock was replaced by Vice-Principal Bosworth at the podium, "Now will students please leave in an orderly fashion and go to your first period class."

Location: Room 222 Japanese Language Class

After a stop at her locker to deposit her lunch bucket, it took only a few extra minutes for Serena to find her first period class. She knew from Molly and Melvin that she wouldn't see either of them until her third period science class, so the teenager took the seat closest to the door. She didn't get a chance to get an eyeful of her fellow classmates before a middle-aged Asian man walked in, whatever conversations between the students ended.

"I'm George Takai and this is Japanese Language," told the man with the receding hairline. "I'll take roll first before I give you the class introduction and outline."

Takei began calling roll, Serena half listened until her name was called out, "Serenity Guerisser."

"Here!"

It took only a second for Serena to return to her musings over the accident at the front of the school and her reactions to Tempus and Terra-Daniels, it also took a second for her mind to snap back into focus when she heard a name called out, "Ami Shabon."

"Hai."

Serena began to scan her classmates, trying to connect a face with the neutral feminine voice, someone with enough confidence to answer the teacher in Japanese, but before she could really decide on a possible target, Takai stepped away from the podium with a stack of papers in his hands.

"For this class, I will be using a total emersion method to teach Japanese to each of you," Takai stopped at the head of each row and gave some of the papers to those students, "which will mean you will adopt Japanese names for the class, speak only Japanese in class and write only in Japanese." The papers were passed back with each student getting one. "If you pass notes to your classmates while I'm speaking, they better be in Japanese." Serena smiled at the thin man's little joke and looked at her paper, she noticed it was the class outline, listing the goal for each week and the dates for tests.

"I would advise you to form a Japanese Club so you can study the language together, combining your strengths to overcome any of your weaknesses, but if some of you aren't comfortable with that arrangement, then please select someone to speak Japanese with on a daily basis. Don't think of this class as a normal language class, Japanese is a very difficult language to learn. The vocal part of the language has levels of diction based on politeness, rudeness, formality and intimacy, as well as differences based on the speaker's gender. I don't really see most students having trouble speaking the language but the main stumbling block for you will be writing the language. Japanese has four distinctive word groups based on the origin of the word being used: kanji, katakana, hiragana and romanji. It isn't an easy goal; your typical grade school student in Japan spends eighty-percent of his time learning his own language."

Groans and gasps came from various students but this only caused Takai to smile, "Don't worry, I do plan to make this class fun as well as a learning experience. I will be teaching you Japanese slang and each Friday I will be showing you Japanese anime in the original language, for example this Friday I will be showing the first three episodes of Ranma ½." Several of the students smiled but Takei's smile thinned, "but I expect you to take notes of what you are watching so we can discuss the anime Monday morning."

Serena's was excited by what Takai was telling the class, glee reflecting in her baby blues, a chance to make one of her dreams come true, even if it meant she would have to work her gray matter to death. Her attention was so total on the teacher's words that she jumped a little when the school chime went off.

"Serenity Guerisser," Serena heard Takai call her name and she turned to the smartly dressed man but she froze when he added, "Ami Shabon, could you two wait a moment?"

If Wynona's alien presence and Darien's edginess played games with the petite blonde's senses, the girl Serena saw standing next to her knotted her wits.

Black.

White.

So stark against the background colors it hurt Serena's eyes to look at her classmate. Face and hands bone white, thin lips cover by black lipstick, almond eyes shrouded by eye-shadow, skirt touching her buckled shoes, buttoned sleeves and collar tight against her skin, and black hair in a heavy braid going down her back and ending at her skirt's hem.

A throat cleared, "Miss. Guerisser," Takai's voice breaking the spell on the petite blonde, "normally my Japanese language class is taken by third and fourth year students looking to fulfill their language requirements for a university," his brown eyes glance at the Goth Girl, his eyes too looked unnerved to Serena, "and while I can understand why a first-year student like Miss. Shabon would take this class, you on the other hand have me concerned."

With the focus now on her, Serena shifted gears and used her prepared answer, "I want to watch anime in its native tongue and uncensored."

Worry became visible on Takai's face, "Miss. Guerisser, maybe you should wait until your third year to take this class."

Serena's eyes hardened, "No, I don't think so, Mister Takai." She didn't like it when people thought she was a dumb blonde, "I want to take your class this year."

The effect of the petite blonde's barely respectful retort registered on Takai's expression, he held his emotions in check as he turned to Ami, "Miss. Shabon, you speak Japanese don't you?"

"Watashi no obasama nihongo wo yondori, kaitari, hanashitari shimasu," for the first time Serena saw raven intelligence in the Goth girl's eyes, the words flow from her black lips.

Even as he tried to hide it, Serena could tell Takai was taken aback by Ami's fluency, "Would you consider tutoring Miss. Guerisser?"

The two girls looked at each other, Serena quickly deciding not to break eye contact first, her instincts told her this stare down mattered. At last Ami said, "Odango."

"Eh?" Serena blinked and glanced at Takai, who was also perplexed by Ami's reply.

Ami stepped forward and used her right hand to touch one of Serena's blonde buns and ponytails, "Your class name will be Odango."

Serena's heart swelled at knowing the answer was yes, Ami giving her a name meant just that, but before she could throw her arms around the Goth girl, Ami stepped back, putting distance between them. Snobbish, maybe, Serena thought, or did she take after her grandmother's people, reserved.

"You two better get to your next class," Takai told them.

Ami and Serena exchanged looks, the Goth girl saying, "I'll see you in our biology class."

"Okay," Serena gathered up her books and waved at Ami as she made tracks, "Bye!"

Location: Room 322, Biology Class, Third Period

Second period was a breeze for Serena, her English class would be no problem for her, living in the land of the midnight sun along with her mother's lessons taught her a love for reading and writing. It also gave her a chance to ask the English teacher where the school library was located. After a stop there to grab a Japanese-English Dictionary, the petite blonde made it to her biology class as the chime went off.

"I expect my students to be here on time, little lady," it was mock seriousness for Andrew was grinning at her.

"Sorry, Andy!" Serena apologized, her bright smile upon her lips, then she frown at seeing Terra-Daniels seated next to the blonde teacher.

"It's Mister Williams while you are at school, little lady," Andrew amended.

"I know-I know," Speedily Serena headed for the closest vacant seat, which happened to be next to Ami. Serena also noticed Molly and Melvin sat behind Ami but no one filled the seat on the other side of the Goth girl.

Serena gave Ami a silent greeting, which the Goth girl returned. While Andrew handed out his outline and gave his standard introduction to Biology, Serena pulled out the Japanese-English dictionary and furiously began to copy words from it into her notebook. Checking to make sure Ami wasn't watching her, the teenager found her seatmate was busy typing on her bluish-gray laptop computer as she listened intently to the teacher's lecture. Going back to her self-appointed project Serena looked at the words she copied:

Great: idai (na) distinguished; yumei (na) famous.

Brain: no. chisei; zuno intelligence.

Endings for girls names: -e, -ko, -mi or –yo.

It need to be short, Serena thought, a name that rolled off the tongue just like the name Ami gave her. From watching her anime, the petite blonde knew the importance of a given name or nicknames were in Japan, especially since it was clear Ami held herself as superior to Serena, maybe the whole student body, thus it was Serena's turn to show she understood ever gram of her relationship with her tutor. After a few combinations, the teen's baby blues lit up and she wrote the finished name down.

"Idzumi."

Serena spooked at Ami saying the name, her head twisted to look at the girl dressed in midnight, her voice trembled, "I . . . I thought since you named me Odango for our Japanese class, I . . . could repay the debt by giving you this name."

The emotions in Ami's onyx orbs were unreadable, Serena saw they were looking at what she wrote and then the Goth girl looked over her shoulder at Melvin. It wasn't an unfriendly gaze she gave the bespectacled boy, although he did smile defensively, it was more an acknowledgement on Ami's part to show she knew where Serena got the idea for the name. Once more she rested her vision on the odango girl, her tone pleasant, "Although Ami is a Japanese name, I will accept Idzumi for our Japanese class."

A flash of a smile appeared on Serena's lips, fleeting due to Andrew clearing his throat to get their attention, "Class, as you know, our school is involved in a study being run by Northwestern University and part of your time spent in my class will be used for this study. So for the rest of this period, I'm going to allow Mister Terra-Daniels a chance to explain what the study is about."

Andrew sat behind his desk as Darien stood to one side of it, Serena could hear the silence of the class waiting for the black-haired man to speak, but there was something else in the air, tangible but invisible, her baby blues scanned the room and she noted doe-eyed expressions on the girls' features, even on Molly's face. Strangely Ami's expression was glacial, her eyes decidedly unfriendly.

"As you know, I'm Darien Mamoru Terra-Daniels, and I've been appointed to handle the Northwestern University study here at your school, at Saint Mary's School For Proper Girls and at Saint Marks' School For Proper Boys. The purpose of the study is to compare the Michigan public school system with those private schools within our state," when a charming smile appeared on his lips, Serena chanced a glance and she found daydream smiles on the silly faces of the female classmates. On the other hand if Ami's expression got any more hostile, she would be growling. "As a beginning for this study," Darien added, "I'll be handing out a questionnaire for you to take home and fill out."

"Why does that sound like a test?" a boyish voice said, a few chuckles accompany it.

Darien picked up a folder and began to pass out the questionnaire to the students. With the class located in the science lab, the young man was going from one student to the next. After a look around to make sure no one but Molly and Melvin would hear her, Serena turned to Ami, "Ami, what's wrong?"

"Yeah, Great Brain," Molly leaned over the table so her dusk-haired head was between the noon-haired head and the midnight-haired head, "You looked like you wanted to operate on Mr. Daniels' heart with a spoon."

An eye shift glance at Melvin occurred before Ami looked at Molly, her face back to her favorite expression, superior, "I have my reasons."

Both Molly and Serena looked at Melvin, the boy fidgeted at the curious looks, giving Ami a look before he said, "Sorry girls, I don't want my next science project blowing up like it did last year."

Molly's head snapped back around, her green gaze spotlighting Ami, "You?"

Ami's expression didn't change, her tone remained aloof, "For a boy, Melvin is a good person but some things don't need to become public gossip."

"Like your hate for boys," Molly ventured, that got a lightening glare from the Goth Girl.

"Well, I don't blame her," Serena crossed her arms, "Some boys are puss bags and when they grow up, they can be real creeps."

"Like me?"

"Yep!" Serena's reply was out her mouth before she realized who spoke. The petite blonde slowly turned, her eyes look up at Darien.

The man in the ice cream suit gave Serena a condescending look, "Maybe the reason for some 'boys' turning out as creeps is because they have encounters with jackrabbit girls."

Jackrabbits?

Rabbits!

A hand with pink polished fingernails snatched the questionnaire from Darien's hand. Serena's voice screechy, "Teachers shouldn't insult their students' hairstyle."

"I'm not a teacher," Darien coolly countered, "and you started the name calling."

"Well, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings," sarcasm colored Serena's apology, "Happy?"

"Delighted," Darien handed the questionnaire to Ami, "Rabbit." The black-haired man went to the next student, Molly.

Serena stared icy blue daggers at Darien's back, she mumbled to Ami just loud enough for Darien to hear, "Ami, what's the Japanese word for a slow-witted, dull imbecile?"

"Ahondara."

"Thanks!"

It was just a glance from Darien but it spoke volumes, even as he continued to hand out the questionnaires. Molly and Melvin sweat-dropped while Serena grinned, but in her victory the petite blonde did notice one thing, a fleeting smile on Ami's lips.

Location: School Grounds, Lunchtime

Two sapphire orbs bounced from face to face in the crowded school grounds, a grimace on crescent lips below those twin blue oceans as the brains behind them used the stimuli of the lunch bucket in her hand to remind her why she was searching.

Lunch bucket.

Alithea Wood's lunch bucket.

With everything that went on in the third period biology class, Serena was striving and as soon as the chime went off, she was out the door with a wave of a hand to her friends. It took her three attempts to open her locker before she was able to get to her lunch bucket. With a dash to the school cafeteria, the walls decorated with hand painted scenes from fantasy and science fiction novels, the petite blonde sat down at one of the long tables and opened the metal box. Inside she found three plastic containers containing crab salad, breaded fried shrimp and chocolate brownies.

Serena was puzzled, she remembered her mother saying she was going to give her daughter a traditional homemade school lunch, peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, an apple and a thermos of milk. Opening the thermos and taking a taste, she found homemade chicken soup.

For the first time Serena really looked at her lunch bucket, her mind thinking hard before she realized a glaring clue, one she should have picked up on much earlier, her lunch bucket had a Fruit Basket theme, this one was Real Bout High School.

"Freaky," Serena quickly repacked the lunch bucket before she was up and out the door.

"It can't be that hard to find a treetop girl with red hair," Serena groused, her feet moving almost as fast as her baby blues. Finally, it was near the outdoor basketball courts, upon a slope of green grass, the odango girl first caught sight of the fiery ponytail. She rushed up behind Alithea but when she saw the lunch bucket open beside the honeyed girl, Serena stopped.

What to say, Serena only thought the girl's name was Alithea Wood, they hadn't had a chance to properly introduce each other this morning. So Serena did the only thing she could do, "Are you Miss Woods?"

The head turned and Serena was once more taken by the strong beauty of the creamy honey face, but then she saw the half-eaten sandwich held by those green tipped fingers. Immediately Serena held up the lunch bucket and her words machinegun out, "HereisyourlunchItookitbymistake!"

The mouth continued to chew slowly, Serena sweating bullets, she wasn't sure if she was out of the dog house until mirth illuminated those emerald eyes. No words pass between them until a swallow occurred, "Why don't we share our lunches, Miss . . ."

Serena rolled her eyes, she was doing it again, "I'm Serenity Hope Guerisser," the petite blonde sat beside the taller girl, "but my friends call me Serena."

"Serena, that's a very cute name," An ivory-toothed grin was Serena's reward, a gesture so warm and friendly, "I'm Alithea Adaunde Woods," she moved the sandwich to her left hand so she could offer her right hand, "and my friends call me Lita."

"Lita."

"Serena."

Hands shook.

First came the sandwich and the drinks, Lita broke it in two while Serena took the two thermos and poured the milk and chicken soup into separate cup-lids. As they shared the food and the drinks, the petite blonde couldn't stop herself from giggling from time to time, when the third giggle slipped out, Lita looked at her oddly, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, really," Serena didn't want to admit she was thinking how in Japan, two persons, let alone two girls, sharing their lunches, especially drinking from the same cups, would be looked upon as indirectly kissing.

Seeing the touch of blush on Serena's cheeks, Lita decided not to push the issue, instead after a drink of milk to wash down the peanut butter, she said, "Sugar, you seem to know more about me than I do of you?"

"Oh," Serena's embarrassment deepened her blush, "It's just Molly's future boyfriend is a real gossip hound."

"Molly," laughter danced in Lita's eyes, "a friend of yours?"

"Yes," Serena brought out the crab salad, "Molly is the first friend I made since moving to Evanston." Since Serena's lunch didn't come with silverware, the odango girl used the spoon from Lita's lunch while the ponytailed girl used the fork. With the first bite, the petite blonde let out a heavenly hum before adding, "This is wonderful! The mayo is homemade, isn't it?"

Lita grinned her delight at Serena's discriminating palette, "I'm surprised, Serena, most wouldn't pick up on it so quickly."

"My parents are naturalists so I grew up on homemade food," Serena smiled back, "in fact, store brought food taste really yucky to me."

"Oh?" There was something intriguing about Serena that captured Lita's interest but she wasn't sure why.

With a shake of her odango head, Serena said, "I think people get cheap highs on the chemicals."

Lita grinned as she got out the breaded fried shrimp, "And you don't do drugs?"

"Me?" Serena's baby blues going wide, laughter tumbling from her lips, "I have no head for anything, one shot and I'm out like a light."

A light chuckle came from Lita as she offered a shrimp to Serena, "So what has Molly's boyfriend said about me?" Suddenly the petite blonde's features clouded, her gaze dipped, sad. It took no time for the tall girl to realize what Serena knew, "You don't need to tell me, Serena, I know enough about myself." Immediately the blonde brightened and took the offered shrimp, Lita trying to sidetrack her own gloomy feelings with a question, "Of course, you should tell me something about yourself?"

Serena took a bite while her sapphire gaze turned thoughtful, "Hmm . . . I'm a globetrotter."

"A globetrotter?" Lita urged Serena on with her curious gaze.

"Yeah," Serena finished the shrimp and took another, "I've traveled all over the world with my parents and my brother," she took a bite of the crunchy delight and chewed, "I . . . wasn't . . . even . . . born . . . in . . . my . . . parents' . . . homeland . . . Quebec."

"Where were you born?" a glance over Serena's shoulder by Lita showed a bunch of guys playing a pickup game of basketball at the nearest court.

"Japan." Serena finished the shrimp and picked up another one only to realize something, "Oh no, you haven't had one shrimp yet and here I'm taking the last one." The petite blonde waved the curled piece in front of the redhead's face, "Now open wide."

Lita leaned forward and took the shrimp from Serena's fingers with her white teeth, but something happened. One moment Lita was sharing Serena's grin, the next her honey face was stone cold as she uncoiled from the ground, her hand streaking pass Serena's ear while the rest of her tall body crashed into the smaller girl. Serena's shock didn't stop her from hearing the sound of flesh hitting leather. In a second, Lita was off Serena, the odango blonde saw her friend seize a rolling basketball and she shouted at the boys staring at her from the basketball court, "Hey! Watch where you throw that ball, white bread, you fucked up our lunch!"

"Sorry," said the closest boy trotting up toward them.

Serena watched from her back as Lita's expression twisted viciously and without hesitation, the redhead jumped straight up and launched a shot. Baby blues followed the ball and they blinked as the ball found nothing but net. To the teen it looked like Lita was shaking with rage, her friend's words could melt steel, "If you homeboys ever hurt any of my friends, I'll three-point your butts into that basket, guarantee."

It didn't matter whom it was directed at, Serena noticed everyone around them backed away from Lita, not just the boys on the court. Hastily Serena shambled to her feet and put a hand on Lita's arm, "It's okay, Lita, I'm fine," a glowing smile on her ruddy face, "thanks to you."

"Those punks," Lita's emerald eyes flash as she turned to Serena, "if that ball had hit, you would've ended up in the hospital."

"But it didn't," Serena worked her hands into Lita's fists, "you were here to protect me and I'm glad."

Gradually Lita's hands unclenched, her head hanged down as her blushing words flowed over pink cheeks, "You mean it?"

"Of course," Serena grinned up at Lita, "although I don't know if our lunches will survive our friendship."

"Huh?" Lita looked down and she saw the containers shattered, the thermoses split and the cups upturned, only one container remain sealed.

Serena watched as Lita opened the last plastic container holding the brownie and the ponytailed girl broke it in two. Serena couldn't miss the aftermath of Lita's fury in her creamy honey face, so when Lita gave her one-half of the dark desert, Serena said, "A toast."

"A toast?"

"Yeah," Serena got on her toes to link her arm with Lita's arm, the two holding the brownie bites, "A toast to girl power."

Lita's grin flashed, "Girl power."

The Brownie was gone in thirty seconds.

Location: Girls Gym, Fifth Period

The fourth period class was Home Economics, a so-so class in Serena point-of-view until she caught sight of Lita. With a minimum of persuasion the petite blonde was able to get her new friend as her partner for the class, visions of being stuffed by Lita's delicious cooking danced in her blond head.

Fifth period was a totally different turn-on for Serena, Physical Education. It was in the locker room that she realized all of her girlfriends were taking this class with her, Molly, Ami and Lita. At the same time, the locker room proved to be a very embarrassing time for the petite blonde. Having naturalists as parents and living with them while they pursed their goals in exotic locations around the world, privacy wasn't a luxury so she became used to being naked in front of her parents and her little brother. Now in a locker room full of strangers in various stages of undress, Serena's thought she was going to combust from the heat coming from her face. "Damn, this clasp," her fingers all thumbs in her attempt to switch to a sports bra for her PE class.

"What's wrong, Serena?" Molly asked, the redhead already in her Kelly green sweatshirt and white shorts.

"I can't get this clasp undone," Serena trying to keep as much of her body concealed as she could given the situation.

"I'll get it, girl," Lita's voice took some of the heat out of Serena's face when she felt the clasp unhooked, she turned to thank her tall friend and immediately turned away again, squeaking, "Thank you, Lita!"

"What the fuck?" Immediately a pair of hands firmly griped Serena's shoulders and spun her back around, "What gives, Serena?" Repeatedly Serena told herself to keep her eyes on Lita's face but it was impossible, her being four-eleven and Lita being five-nine put Lita's breasts right across from Serena's eyes. "Are you coming down with something?" Lita asked as she put her hand to her friend's forehead, "Your face is really flushed." Serena remembered how soft they were from her early morning collusion with Lita, two large mounds with blond brown tips, their perfection amplified Serena's feeling of inadequacy.

"Alithea's right," Molly coming to stand with Serena and Lita.

"Lita," the ponytailed girl corrected.

'I . . ." Serena stopped. How could she explain her problem without sounding lily white?

"Serenity is embarrassed," Serena turned to find Ami joining their little group. It was a gut reaction on Serena's part; Ami's appearance blew out the flames from her face.

Hair was black, everywhere.

Skin bone white, everywhere.

Serena thought Ami had bleached her face, neck and hands to get them that color, but the sight of even her nipples with that dead fish shade left the petite blonde gawking.

Lita and Molly looked at Serena, then at Ami and then back to Serena. Ami gave them her usual aloof look, which perplexed both of them until Molly realized, "Oh, I see said the blind man." Molly moved so she shielded Serena from the others, "Serena, you're modest, physically I mean?"

"I know it's immature of me," Molly's question breaking Serena's dam, her hands still holding her pink-laced bra to her breasts, "but I've never undressed in front of strangers before."

"No need to say anymore, GF," Lita grinned as she turned her back and continued to change into her gym clothes.

"Go on, Serena, we won't look," Molly gently prodded, "Right, Ami?"

Ami stared at Molly for a second before turning back to her own gym clothes. Molly smiled and gave Serena her back. The fourteen-year-old quickly discovered the combined mass of Lita and Molly created an excellent screen for her. As quick as she could, Serena changed into her gym clothes. Once finished she was about to thank her friends when her baby blues glance at Lita's lower back.

A seven-inch Monarch butterfly was there.

Its etched wings of intense black and royal red fluttered with the roll and stretch of muscles under Lita's skin. It seemed so alive that Serena barely stopped her hand from touching it. "Cooool," slipped out of her lips.

"Wa?" Lita glanced over her shoulder at Serena, her hands about to pull her gym top down.

"She saw your tattoo, Alithea," Lita gave Ami a meaningful look, "Lita," the Goth girl amended.

"It's beautiful," Molly's emerald eyes reflect the awe in her voice, "it looks brand new."

"I . . . I keep it touched up," Serena looked up and she saw the train wreck of emotions on Lita's face: anger, fear, shame, longing, love. Without saying another word, the creamy honey girl yanked her sweatshirt down, her expression turned to stone and her sturdy legs took her out of the locker room.

"Lita?" Serena's tone showed she couldn't comprehend how such a beautiful tattoo could bring such pain.

"She hurts too much," Molly took Serena's hand, gently squeezing it.

"Her parents?" Serena remembered how Lita reacted when she realized her new friend knew about her parents' deaths.

"Three months ago," Molly sure of what Serena wanted to know.

Serena sighed and made her way toward the gym with Molly. When Ami fell instep with them, the petite blonde glimpsed a different expression on the Goth girl's face before it changed back to her normal aloof expression, understanding. It confused Serena, did Ami empathize with Lita's loss or did she comprehend Serena trying to reach out to her friend? The only thing the teen could do was to whisper, "Ami, please call me, Serena."

A noncommittal sound came from Ami as the threesome joined the rest of the girls, standing together on the indoor volleyball court. Lita was with them, her face a mask. The odango girl was about to go to the tall redhead when a whistle blew and the PE teacher came out of her office.

The whistle dropped from her lips to hang from its string, "I'm Kineta MacClean," her brown eyes all business, "please sit down." Seeing her opportunity Serena slipped between the students and she was able to sit next to Lita. "First, I'll take roll call, then we're discuss what sports competitions are coming up before we sort everyone in teams to play some volleyball."

As the roll was called, Serena kept one ear up for her name while she looked at Lita. From where she sat, the petite blonde was sure the honey-skinned girl knew she was there but only green marbles showed in those eye sockets.

"Molly Eve Baker."

"Here!"

Serena glanced back and noticed both Ami and Molly were right behind her, a supportive smile framed by wavy red hair while Ami's raven braid coiled around her like a serpent's tail.

"Serenity Hope Guerisser."

Serena rolled to her feet, "Here!"

When she sat down, she moved a little closer to Lita.

"Ami Shabon."

Ami stood, gave the teacher a placid stare before she sat. The teacher looked unnerved by the Goth girl's silent treatment and a couple of the students inched away from Ami, but not Lita. Serena's ears pop up at the tiny giggle she heard coming from behind her.

"Mina Charity Spencer."

Cat-like curiosity pulled Serena's gaze to the ribbon-haired blonde that bounded to her feet, her eyebrows arched at the British accent, "That's Lady Mina Charity Spencer, if you please."

First Ami, now this British tart radiating attitude, Kineta frowned before saying, "Not in America, Miss Spencer, all titles are checked in at the border."

"Americans," Mina stuck her lip out before she dropped onto the hardwood floor. Serena wasn't sure but during the whole exchange the Brit kept shifting her ample body this way and that way, like she was modeling the gym clothes she was wearing.

Gym clothes.

Immediately Serena leaned back, she looked over Lita's broad back at the longhaired blonde and she let out an envious moan. Only seconds pass before she heard Molly whisper softly in her ear, "What is it, Serena?"

"Indian Silk," Serena replied without looking away, "From her crimson hair ribbon to her white shorts," envy in her baby blues, "I wouldn't be surprised if her undies were silk too."

Molly let out a slow whistle while Ami looked at Mina before she leaned forward and whispered, "Serena, you have very good eye for details."

"Not really," Serena whispered back, "When you've lived in China and India for as many years as I did, you learn to spot the sheen of clothes made of the stuff."

"If you say so," once more Ami's aloofness didn't change.

"Alithea Adaunde Wood."

When Lita stood, Serena glanced up at her friend before a thought hit her right between the eyes and she did a double take. Maybe her attention was caught by the clothes wore and not the person, but now with Mina looking at Lita, Serena realized the blonde bombshell could be mistaken as her sister. Sure, the hairstyle was different and Serena's face was ruddy because of her life in the great outdoors, yet she saw how their features were alike enough for her to use Mina as a mirror.

"Serena?"

Serena jumped a little at finding Lita waving a hand in front of her face. To cover-up the truth, Serena said, "I'm sorry, Lita, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Eh?" Lita looked startled before she understood, "Heavens, girl, it's not your fault I've got a thin skin right now. Like a friend of mine would say, 'it is cross I must bear.'"

"Still . . ." Serena began but the PE teacher interrupted her.

"With the beginning of a new school year, our first inter-school competitions are volleyball, basketball and soccer." Kineta's black eyes scanned the girls, "Is there anyone interested in joining these teams?"

"Where did Molly run off to?" Serena was most confused by Molly's behavior. Once gym class was over and the petite blonde came out of the showers, Molly was already dressed and gone, even though the two agreed to walk home together. At the time, Serena had shrugged her shoulders and gone off with Ami to her locker, where the Goth girl waved goodbye and headed off to her own locker. Lita was going to stay an extra hour at the gym because of a meeting of the girls' basketball teams, freshmen-sophomore-junior-and-senior. Now with her backpack on her back and her lunch bucket in hand, Serena was searching the school grounds for her wayward friend, having returned to the place she seen Molly last, the girls gym.

It was a misnomer to call the whole building the girls gym, the west half of the enormous domed building was the girls gym, the east half was the boys gym, with a section of this building facing away from the rest of the school. The building had corners, only the dome was round, so when Serena came a rounded the corner of the far section, an answer to her question was given to her.

It was wonderful - it was shocking. It was gentle - it was aggressive. It was hope - it was fear. It was all these things to Serena, the sight of Melvin kissing Molly, or was it Molly kissing Melvin. She relaxed against the building's wall, her head tilted up slightly to accept his lips, her hands up near their heads where his forearms rested on either side of her wavy red hair, from her left hand dangled his glasses. Melvin was leaning in so only his lips touched her lips and nothing else of their bodies, clearly they meant it to be this way. Serena saw the hair around their eyes move slightly, leading the petite blonde to conclude that they were breathing through their noses, extending the magic of the kisses.

"You know you shouldn't spy on couple's kissing."

"Eck!" If Serena jumped any higher she would have given everyone a free show of her Hello Kitty panties, her in-the-air-turn and quick ducking back around the corner put her nose-to-nose with the other sneak, "Mister Terra-Daniels!"

"I didn't know rabbits could hop so high," Serena eyes narrowed to hard sapphires when she heard the mix of coughs and apologizes coming from around the corner, "and I'm not buying the I-didn't-know-they-were-there act, all fourteen-year-old girls know what the back of the gym is used for."

Serena was seething inside, her finding Melvin and Molly together were accidental but what Darien had done wasn't, "You spoiled this for Molly, her first kiss."

"Give me a break, rabbit," Darien rolled his steely blue eyes, "kisses from a girl are a dime a dozen." At the sight of the shaking violent coming from Serena's body, the black-haired young man added, "Of course if you think I'm wrong, I give you leave to correct me," the tall youth put his chin within striking distance of Serena's palm.

"WHACK!"

Too late, Darien didn't realize his chin was also within striking distance of Serena's lunch bucket.

"Serena?"

Immediately Serena spun and took a couple of steps to Molly, ignoring Melvin trying to hide behind his girlfriend, and she grabbed the wavy redhead's hand, "Let's get going, Molly." As she dragged her friend off, she shouted over her shoulder, "See you tomorrow, Melvin."

"See you tomorrow, Serena . . . Molly . . ." Melvin sounded mixed up by what was happening, "Mister Terra-Daniels are you alright?"

"Serena, that guy from Northwestern isn't moving," Molly kept looking over her shoulder, "maybe we should get him to the nurse's office."

"The only thing that jerk needs," Serena stormed out of the school's entrance with Molly in tow, "is a heart transplant."

Molly sighed and waited for Serena to calm down, it wasn't until they were halfway home before the petite blonde finally slowed to a walk. "I'm sorry, Molly," after a few more steps she let go of her friend's hand, "I really made a mess back there," her face flushed, her voice subdued, "it should've been the happiest day of your life."

"Actually, Serena," Molly's blush was brighter than Serena's rosy face, "you were kind of responsible for it," Molly's smile was crooked but gentle, "when you called Melvin my future boyfriend, you gave me the courage to make the future now."

For a while Serena couldn't talk, her mind emptied by Molly's words, she was embarrassed, stunned that her jest could push two hearts together. When the wavy redhead took her friend's hand, modesty tumbled from extra red lips, "Molly, that aren't true, you were already thinking about it, I did nothing."

"Maybe," Molly lightly squeezed the hand, "or maybe you make things easy for people to do."

"Jesus H," it was true, Serena heard those same words from her Mom and Dad, about how her brass brashness could kick-start situations but she didn't want Molly to know. Instead she changed the subject a little, to satisfy her own curiosity, "So how was it, kissing I mean?"

Now it was Molly's turn to be tongue-tied, Serena continued to look eagerly, the words finally drifting from the wavy redhead's lips, "It was . . . it was wonderful."

"Like?"

Molly thought for a while, putting effort into her next words:

How do you describe something you haven't experienced before?

The drowning knows the air they breathe,

The thirsty knows the water they drink,

But do the blind know color?

Do the deaf know words?

The heart,

It knows,

The caress of lips upon its flesh,

The honey taste of its neuter,

The warmth an intoxicating pleasure.

Serena was stunned, all at once she wished for what Molly experienced to happen to her. For some handsome boy to kiss her soul awake, for a prince to slay the dragon that guarded her virginity, her sigh laced with longing, "That was beautiful."

"Thank you," Molly nodded as the two reached her home.

It took effort, Serena knew her daydream wouldn't yet come true, to say to Molly, "Although I think you were still thinking of getting Melvin behind the gym before I came on the scene," her trigger finger flecking Molly's cute nose, "Your little poem tells me that."

Molly laughed and Serena joined her but as their giggles died down, the emerald-eyed girl noticed the UPS van and the other side of the street, "It looks like the O'Neill family are getting a special delivery package."

"So it seems," Serena answered. There was something wrong about the van, she could sense it but her mind couldn't find it.

"After dinner, did you want to study together?" Molly asked as she took a step up the cobble stones leading to her home.

"At your place?" Molly nodded. "Sure!" Serena flashed her award-winning smile, "I'll call before coming over."

"See you later, alligator," Molly waved as she trotted to her front door.

"After while, crocodile," Serena waved over her shoulders as she skipped to the gate of the picket fence surrounding her home, she watched Molly go into her home.

"So how did things go?" Startled, Serena turned abruptly and found Luna walking along the top of the fence. The black cat looking mildly surprise at her owner's reaction, a worried look creased her moon brow, "Did you detect any Fallen," then a hopeful smile touched her fanged lips, "or did you find one of the Sailor Scouts?"

Crash and burn was how Serena felt like right then and there, it looked to Luna like the blonde's odango buns sag. For a whole day she had forgotten about being the Instrument of Peace, for a whole day she was a teenager making new friends, having boy troubles and learning to work in a high school environment.

"Serenity?"

"It's okay, Luna," Serena's tone didn't say okay but then something Luna said got her curious, "What do you mean detect?"

"Not being Sailor Moon doesn't mean your soul doesn't fill the Instrument of Peace," that got a blank look from Serena, which in turn caused Luna to roll her eyes, "Serenity, you are the Instrument of Peace both in and out of uniform, so your soul is . . ."

It was a scream that KO'd the rest of Luna's explanation. Serena turned white at the humanness of the sound and she was certain it came from Molly's home. Everything in front of Serena blurred and narrowed, her mind, body and soul moving as one, her ears catching the sound of grass under her shoes, her eyes locked on the doorknob to Molly's front door, her hand grabbing it, the lock wouldn't give.

Another scream.

Serena shook the door, both of her hands twisting the doorknob, trying to break the lock, her heart pounding like a jackhammer.

"Serenity, become Sailor Moon!"

The blonde turned, her senses blaring with Luna's words, an object coming at her, her right hand grabbing it out of the air. The broach was warm at the touch, the cross whiter, the gems sparkling with holy light. Serena thought no more about choices, no more about pluses and minuses, her hand holding the talisman above her head, words fill her mind and she gave them life:

"MOON HOLY POWER."

Her dream, the Garden of Eden, the Holy Spirit filling her to overflowing, every one of her senses revel in the world revealed, the world as it should be, no longer shadows. Serena stumbled from the door, the footfalls sounding strange to her and she shivered, feeling a draft where there shouldn't be one.

Another scream suddenly cut off.

"Sailor Moon!"

Too much input, Serena blinked at Luna, her hand going to her face, her eyes blinking at finding a domino mask perched on her nose, her eyes focusing on her hand, the long white glove going to her elbow, foreign words in gold thread upon the palm.

"Serenity!"

Luna's plea awoke Serena to the reason why she had transformed. The door, yes, no, might not break. Living room window, glass, no, yes. Serena ran around the rosebush and she turned to head straight for the huge, transparent pane. She stopped, skidded to a halt.

Who, silver hair, ruby hairclips in her odango buns, face older, baby blues wide, body full, mature, chest heaving, ample breasts lifting. A Japanese fuku, red-white-and-blue, bows, sailor collar, knee boots. Serena touched her glossy red lips, "Sailor Moon?"

"HURRY!"

Again Luna knocked Sailor Moon into action, she shot forward and leapt at the window, her arms going over her face and her legs pulled to her chest. The sound of shattered glass, the rain of shards upon a wooden floor, Sailor Moon landed on the ground, rolled and bounced up onto her feet, looked about, no one. Heart pounding, eyes wide, every mundane thing ignored, must find Molly, save her.

A voice, low, sinister, can't make out the words. Sailor Moon turned, slowly, glass breaking, she frowned and the voice seemed to come from the kitchen. Cautiously forward, hallway unlit, voice stronger. A smell, smoke, burning oil, did Molly burn herself?

The voice again, male, the words recognizable, "Are you the one, pretty girl?"

A muffled whimper, the terror in it left Sailor Moon cold.

"Don't worry, I'll find out."

Sailor Moon tiptoed to the kitchen entrance, her pearly whites biting into her red lower lip to stop any noise. Her wide eyes saw Molly on the yellow kitchen table with a UPS man leaning over her, her arms and legs duct taped to the legs, a piece of gray over her mouth. His back was to Sailor Moon, one hand knotted in the wavy red hair to hold Molly's head still while the other hand held a long needle just under her neck, "One here and you won't feel a thing," his voice cooing, "one under the other ear and I'll peel free the Instrument of Peace."

The smell of burning oil stronger as Sailor Moon skirted the doorframe, her baby blues glanced at the electric stove, a cloud of black smoke billowing from a cast-iron pan, a muffled scream jerked her gaze to the sight of half of the needle driven into Molly's neck. The odango heroine saw the UPS man pick up another needle, her mind waltzing through her possible actions, her eyes drop to the floor, wishing for the first time Luna was there to tell her what to do but for some reason the black cat was missing.

Cast-iron option.

It took two steps for Sailor Moon to reach the stove and she grabbed the smoking pan with both hands. Picking it up, the weightless feel of the black iron surprised the petite blonde as did her palms not blistering from the heat. Sailor Moon knew she didn't have the time to think, Molly's expression slack-jawed, glassy-eyed as the UPS man turned his head.

"Hey! Postal!"

The UPS man reacted to Serena's shout, he spun off Molly and Sailor Moon reacted on impulse, getting the frying pan up in time to glance his fist from her face, the fist holding the needle.

"Instrument of Peace!"

Something was wrong, Sailor Moon could feel it, his insane look on his WASP face, his speed seemed supernatural. The blonde ducked right before she spun left to slam the flat bottom iron into his face.

Shock, unabated shock on Sailor Moon's face at the sight of the brown-suited man knocked off his feet and his body sliding across the floor to bang against the refrigerator. She looked at the skillet, then at the man flopping on the floor like a fish out of water. Her eyes went to Molly, the fixed look on her friend's face breaking through the combat haze, "Molly!"

"No, Sailor Moon!"

Sailor Moon staggered to a stop, her eyes going to Luna, "What?"

"The man is possessed by a minion of the Fallen, you need to exorcise it to stop it!" Luna was standing dramatically on the floor just inside the kitchen entrance.

Sailor Moon looked at the man, his head covered with blood, the fear she didn't feel before chilled her, "How?"

"Use the ritual of exorcism."

"Huh?" Being Catholic, Sailor Moon understood such things as exorcism but she wasn't sure how Luna meant it.

"Call upon the power within you, as the Instrument of Peace, and say these words with all your heart, 'Holy Moon Exorcism!'"

Immediately Sailor Moon turned to face the UPS man, his eyes hungry, his mouth twisted with malicious glee. The petite blond crossed her hands, sighted down the v they made, on the edge of her vision she could see how Molly lay helpless. Concentrate, Concentrate, the heroine thought and she call out, "HOLY MOON EXORCISM!"

There it was again, a cup filling, her chest weightless, her soul remembering, the first taste of ice cream, her tiny fingers holding papa's finger, her mother gently washing her. The purity of those moments flung forward with the wave of her opening arms, the pure white droplets falling on the UPS man. Sailor Moon watched as an oily cloud billowing out the man at the same time as he collapsed on the ground, the odango heroine shivered at the moan her soul heard, 'Luce.'

"That was great! Sailor Moon!"

A couple of seconds passed as Sailor Moon stared at the unmoving man, unable to respond to Luna's approval, she could only see his eyes close, blood pooling around his head.

"Molly!"

As soon as Sailor Moon carefully removed the needle from Molly's neck, her body shook as lips threw out all of her suppressed sobs in one giant torrent, and when Sailor Moon tore the redhead's hands free from her gray bonds, Molly jackknifed up and locked her arms around her savior's waist. Sailor Moon could tell her friend was trying to say something but the words only came out as sobs. The red-white-and-blue scout smiled, she held her friend and tenderly rubbed the shaking back, trying to make her voice sound motherly, "Shhh . . . you're safe now."

"Sailor Moon, we have to go."

If glares could kill Luna would be dead a thousand times over, Sailor Moon was so angry at the black cat's heartlessness. Molly's reaction was different, "A talking cat . . ." she fainted with the last word.

"Molly!" Sailor Moon put her ear to her friend's chest, heard the beating heart and she let out a sigh, in the next second she heard distant sirens.

"Sailor Moon, we have to go, now!"

"Okay-okay," Sailor Moon grumbled as she gentle laid Molly on the table, "I still wish I could get my face on the cover of Time."

"If we don't move fast enough," Luna was on Sailor Moon heels as the two ran for the backdoor, "the police will see us heading for your home."

"I would think you would be overjoyed that I decided to become Sailor Moon," Sailor Moon fired back as she opened the backdoor.

"Your indecision almost got your friend killed, think about it," the sound of the front door being kicked in echoed through out the house, "now Move!"

Sailor Moon grabbed Luna by the scuff of her neck and huddled the back fence with ease.

Notes:


	2. Chapter 2

Series Title: Moon Over Chicago

By December Lewis, Chivon Ruddock and Horosha

Disclaimer: "Sailor Moon" is the property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd. and Toei Animation Ltd.  
As such, I'm getting no compensation for writing this fiction other than my own enjoyment and to bring pleasure to the fans of this wonderful series.

If you have any comments, our e-mail addresses also want to thank December Lewis for deciding I'm good enough to work with her and create this series. I would also like to than Amy and Fate Testarossa for inspiring me once more.

WARNING: Moon Over Chicago is a violent series with adult situations, slang and bad language. As such, this series is rated R and anyone under the age of fourteen should get parental approval before reading it.

Interlude

She was in the garden again.

That thought floated through her head as she sat on the beautiful marble bench. As she always did when she was in the garden, she looked around her. It was clearly evening, but the garden still looked serene. White roses and calla lilies grew in various areas. White stone paths led to other areas of the garden. Fountains could be heard trickling in the background. The garden always seemed as familiar as it was peaceful; it was how she knew she was dreaming. Nothing in this serene existed on Earth.

She wasn't a stranger to this dream garden. She started seeing it in her dreams when she was ten years old and had seen it regularly since. The garden wasn't in every dream she had, but it appeared in all of her life changing dreams. It was in this garden that she found the rosary and habit that helped her realize the religious calling on her life. It was in this garden that she saw the vision that led her to be in the church on that fateful night. Given all of that, the young girl focused her attention on the garden and its surroundings. God was trying to tell her something.

As she looked around the garden, her eyes stopped at the center of the courtyard in which she sat. A beautiful light, pure and peaceful, was shining in the center of the courtyard. Amazingly, it wasn't hard on the eyes. In fact, the soothing nature of the light gave the young dreamer hope. She felt like she could look at the light for hours and enjoy her rest.

But she wasn't given the opportunity. Soon, birds of prey noticed the light as well. From out of nowhere they became swooping down from the sky, trying to destroy the light. A few of these birds seemed to be determined, not so much to destroy the light, but to take it for themselves.

"No!" the girl heard herself shout as she rushed to try and shoo away the crows and vultures, "No. Leave this light alone. Go away!"

Yet, for all of this shouting and shooing, the girl quickly weakened. As she sank to the ground in front of the light, she heard a deep voice say, "Protect the Light. Find and protect the Light."

Suddenly awake, the girl shot out of bed. Pushing her dark black hair out of her face, she shivered. What did that dream mean? What was the light and how was she supposed to find it, much less protect it? "Madre de Dios," the young girl whispered as if in prayer. Sure at this point of not being able to get back to sleep, she climbed out of her bed. Finding the last gift her mother had given her, a rosary, the young girl decided to spend the rest of the night in actual prayer. If nothing else, this would give her a few moments of peace.

The Flight of the Valkyries was the ring tone that came from the cellphone in District Attorney Kerwin Lafitte's pocket. The stocky man's eyes looked up and took a moment to look around his office before he reaches in and pulls out the device and opens it, "Lafitte speaking."

"Bad Moon Rising," it was a password and the blue steel-eyed man touched the scrambler button on his custom-made phone, "You can speak freely, Chief Detective."

"Our first Sailor Moon sighting might have just occurred, Mr. Lafitte," the DA's eyebrows lift but then noticed the sour tone from the police officer, "some Shadow scrum dropped a possessed UPS man in the middle of a residential section of our town and he attacked a girl."

"The girl survived the attack?" the fifty-year-old man leans forward in his chair. To get the identification of Sailor Moon this early in the campaign against the Sailor Scouts would be a stroke of luck.

"Yes," the sound of a notebook being flip open could be heard, "a Mary Eve Baker, age 15, called Molly by her friends, was found unconscious in the kitchen of her parent's home along with a severely injured Donald Gibson, an UPS man, who was also unconscious." The man pauses to wet his lips,  
"when revived by the police officers answering the nine-eleven call, the dazed girl told them she was attacked by Gibson and her life was saved by woman she identified as Sailor Moon."

"What is Gibson's condition?" the concern in his soft voice wasn't for the attacker's health.

"He is going to die on the operating table even through the paramedics were able to stabilize his vitals while in transit."

Lafitte smiled at the chilly finality of the senior detective's tone, "Are we sure it wasn't this Baker girl who defeated the possessed man?"

"Yes, Mr. Lafitte, there are several witnesses in fact."Another pause and noise of papers, "Amber Terrance, a teenage student walking home from school saw a platinum-haired woman in a magical girl costume go crashing through the Baker's front window," a third pause, "and the woman, who made the nine-eleven call, Phillis Ann Fraiser, also saw a young woman with silvery hair and a gaudy costume running around in the Baker's front yard."

"No one saw her leave?" Lafitte looks up at his office door.

"The officers found the back door open so it is possible that Sailor Moon left that way," there seems to be a note of satisfaction in the detective's voice.

"You are glad she nailed Gibson, Mr. Folks?" the gray-haired man couldn't help be amused by how the Chief of Detectives' passion for police work would supplant his duties as a Master.

"Anyone who cleans up the shit the Shadows do gets my vote of approval," certainty rings in the detective's words, "Oh, we not going to be able to make Baker disappear either, her boyfriend is the son of two of my best officers."

"Does she glow?" the man in the three-piece suit frown.

"Like a light bulb," there was a shrug in that voice.

"Are the investigating detectives under our control?" something about the way the Chief of Detectives attitude worried the DA.

"One is the mother of Baker's boyfriend and her partner is a by-the-book kind of man."

The man combs his hand through his graying hair, "Are we one-hundred-percent certain that this is Sailor Moon and not Sailor V," this was probably the one and only time he hoped it was the cursed blonde.

"A police artist has done a composite picture of our rescuer and her hairstyle is different from Sailor V"  
the sound of a door opening, "and Sailor V's MO is kill first, ask questions later," a long pause before he added, "plus Gibson was exorcized, freed from his possession."

Lafitte didn't go pale at the news, how can you when you have expected this news to come sooner or later, "So we have a new Sailor Scout, who might be Sailor Moon."

"True, Mr. Lafitte," Mr. Folks tone turns thoughtful, "we could be dealing with another Sailor Scout trying to confuse us like Sailor V did when she first appeared in London."

"And we won't know for sure until we have her corpse hanging on a cross," his gray eyes like marbles,  
"even thou Sailor Moon is the only one who can perform exorcism."

"Unless this group of Sailor Scouts have a new winkle . . . " his words stop as another voice interrupts the detective. This pause last longer before the detective started up again, "I need to go now, Mr. DA,  
we've a new sighting of Sailor V in Chi-town."

The Master groaned and shook his head, "It looks like the chickens are coming to roost," he stared up the ceiling before adding, "just keep me up-to-date of any new developments so we can present a detailed report at the next council meeting."

"Will do, sir"

A young woman lay curled up on the bed of a room in an apartment in a cheap hotel behind Dante's Inferno, one of several juice bars in Evanston that feature the rock music scene. Her long hair spread over her face, neck, her shoulders and most of her chest in an onyx shroud, leaving only it's ends spilling over her slowly raising and lowering tanned breasts, her dark nipples peeking out. Reclined next to her is a range-haired man with a cigarette dangling from his slack jaw, his expression shows a faraway look and he holds a twelve-string guitar against his chest, his hand slowly picking out a tune.

"She is here."

The man's soft brown eyes look away from the guitar, it was the shadow hiding in the darkness of the bathroom that he stared at, "What happened?"

"She freed a man possessed by one of our minion," the voice had the quality of dried leaves crackle underfoot.

"How can you be so certain?"

"Only the Instrument of Peace has the power of exorcism," only if you looked hard enough could you see the empty darkness within the empty room.

"Unless the Sailor Scouts have evolved like they did on the Moon Kingdom and the other sky kingdoms," he tossed the words out carelessly as his left hand drifts down and gently combs back the hair out of the woman's face.

"It is as she said it would be," the voice seemed to show no reaction to the man's counterpoint.

The young man nodded, his old eyes stare into the woman's onyx orbs, her gaze glazed over by what was in her blood, coursing through her brain, "Correct"

"She should be eliminated soon," the gloom around the glow of the light bulbs sharpened as the presence move from the bathroom, "she could be one of them," for the first time the voice showed emotion, hate.

"No," lazily his hand moves to the strings of his guitar, a couple of beautiful notes fill the smoky air and the darkness suddenly shivered, "she is our edge against the Masters," his fingertips call up another enchanting cord and the shade dropped to the floor, "and if she is indeed a Sailor Scout then she could be our way of controlling them," his other hand surrounded the neck and the tenor of his next pluck caused the woman next to him to coo in her drugged state, "Understand?"

The harmonic sound had the desired effect, the creature of the hollow life crawled back into the bathroom, its voice full of pain, fear, "Understood, Nightwing."

The man waited until the pitch black of the other room lost the smell of the Pit, then he turns her attention back to the woman next to him, his hands once more putting away the musical instrument and gathering the woman into his embrace. A soft giggle escapes her lips as she softly nuzzled his chest,  
"Coyote . . . Totem Spirit . . . guide . . . " her bottomless eyes close, her breathing slowed.

Maybe it was a trick of the smoky light, the heavy heat of a closed room, the man's features angular,  
narrow, predatory, "Keep thinking that, my pet," his smile wolfish despite his hand stroking her ebony hair tenderly, "listen to your owner's voice"

Chapter Two: The Bitter Fruit of Victory

Location: Guerisser Residence

It was not easy for Serena to get up the next morning. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the afternoon before play out in her mind. She saw her new friend, scared and tied up on the kitchen table.  
She saw the twitching UPS man bleeding on the floor after she had hit him with a frying pan. It was difficult for the young girl to get through the rest of the night because she had no idea of the condition of the possessed man. If he died, it would be her fault.

Sleeping was even harder, for when she slept, she saw different endings to her first battle. Sometimes she was too late and she saw her friend dying on the floor. Other times, she didn't hear Luna giving instructions and she ended up killing the possessed attacker. Or, she didn't get away in time and she was shot by the police. That one had her shaking for a few minutes after she woke up.

Given her restless sleep, she was up early the next morning in a rather subdued mood. She surprised the whole family by being awake early enough to actually eat breakfast with the family before school.  
And although her mother and father were clearly worried about her behavior, neither pushed for information, for which Serena was grateful.

As the teen left the house that morning to walk to school, she pulled out one of her most treasured possessions, her grandmother's rosary. Her grandmother had given Serena the pearl rosary, which she had received at her confirmation, for Serena's first communion. Ever since receiving it, Serena had treasured the pearl rosary and had often used it at times when she was really troubled, as she felt the presence of the Virgin Mary as well as her beloved grandmother when she used it.

And Serena was really troubled that morning.

Standing in front her house, she kissed the cross that is her family heirloom and began the Apostle's Creed. 

"I believe in God, the Father Almighty."

A lot of yesterday came down to a sense of disbelief. Oh, she believed in God, but she hadn't believed in magical warriors in sailor suits until she became one. She really wanted to believe that all this Fallen stuff was some bad dream, until she walked by the darkened house of the Bakers. Molly's parents had rushed to the hospital after they had heard what had happened to their daughter and they still hadn't returned home. The quiet house with its shattered picture window marked by police tape, as was the kick-in door, seemed to tell its own disturbing story.

She remembered the police breaking down that door as she reverted back to her normal self, she remembered watching them from her bedroom window as the sound of the ambulance filled her eyes before she saw it and she remembered as the polite knock upon her front door once Molly was carried away by the men in white while a second ambulance appeared for the UPS man. She opened the door and faced the two police detectives, both in their conservative suits and serious expression. Once she let them in and all three were seated, it was then the questions came as she knew they would but she can't stop herself from bursting into tears, holding Luna tight in her embrace, as she told the police officers lies after lies.

No, she hadn't heard Molly's screams. She was in the bathroom, taking a shower.

No, she hadn't seen anyone leave the Baker's home. She was in the bathroom, taking a shower.

No, she hadn't known anything was wrong at Baker's home until she saw the police arriving.

Forcing herself to continue down the street toward her school, Serena reached the first pearl bead in the rosary and started Our Father phrase. When she reached the phrase, "Who art in heaven," her heart seemed to ache. Ever since Luna first told her about her "calling," it had been anything but heaven. She could still hear Luna telling her that the Fallen were looking for her, killing anyone they thought might be the Instrument of Peace.

At the end of the block, Serena had reached the second bead. More desperate than before for comfort, she began to whisper the first of three Hail Marys.  
"Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee."

Besides being worried, the teen realized she also felt alone. This other sailor that Luna mentioned aside,  
she was facing a slew of monsters and evil with just a talking cat by her side. She also couldn't talk to anyone about what she was facing. Assuming the person even believed her words, sharing this information would just put them in danger. Wouldn't it? Would it be worth risking it if she wasn't so alone?

By this point, Serena had reached the school grounds, something she was only barely conscious of.  
Although the air was filled with the petty concerns and prattling conversation of high school students,  
she didn't hear any of it, so focused was she on the second Hail Mary.

As she uttered, "pray for us sinners," for the second time that morning, the sensitive teen almost started to cry. She had severely injured, possibly even killed a man, unnecessarily. Thou shalt not kill was definitely a commandment and she didn't think about what possible options there were before she bashed the possessed man with a cast iron frying pan.

On her third Hail Mary now, still searching for peace, she uttered the phrase "now and in the hour of our death," and froze. Death. She almost caused several deaths. As she closed her eyes, she was back in Molly's kitchen, with Luna looking at her accusingly.

"Your indecision almost got your friend killed, think about it," the sound of the front door being kicked in echoed throughout the house, "now Move!"

She almost got Molly killed. Molly was attacked, and based on other things that Luna had told her, this was just the beginning.

Someone once told her that the hardest thing to do was to praise when you were in pain. She didn't really understand what that meant until today. It was very hard to start the Glory Be in her frame of mind, but she managed. She had gotten as far as invoking the name of the Holy Spirit when she walked into an obstacle.

Blinking, the teen looked up to see a familiar face that looked a little worried. "Girl, I called you three times and you didn't seem to hear me," the tall redhead said, "If figured if I stepped in front of you,  
you'd at least see me."

"Oh! I'm sorry, Lita," Serena said apologetically, "I really didn't hear you."

"That's okay. Obviously your head was somewhere else," the taller teen replied. For a second she looked at Serena as if to say something, and then appeared to change her mind, "Hey, look. Why don't we have lunch together again today? I tried this new dish last night . . . and I could use some feedback on it. So, up for it?"

"Oh-oh, yeah sure! I'll see you at lunch," the blonde teen smiled a few seconds later than she should have, in her friend's opinion. As they separated to stop by their lockers, the taller girl decided that she would need to keep an eye on her friend that morning. Something was definitely up.

Location: Room 222 Japanese Language Class

It took most of Serena's willpower just to remember where her favorite class was and make it to her desk before her energy level took a nose dive and she flops onto her chair, her head seeking out the comfortable darkness of her folded arms upon the top of her wooden desk.

"Ohayo, Odango-kun."

It took a minute for everything to click in Serena's gray matter or her muffled voice to say, "Ohayo,  
A.." she stopped herself, remembering the class rules just in time, and lifted her head to give Ami a tired smile, "Ohayo, Idzumi-kun." The mushy feeling in-between Serena's ears kept her baby blues locked on the big brass belt buckle that held the four-layered black skirt her friend wore, tiny white outlines of teddy bears and 'Skirts for Kids' printed on the fabric.

"You don't look well, Odango-kun, do you worry about Molly-kun?" Ami's expression seemed neutral yet the way the three layers of chrome alum ruffles hang from her long-sleeved black sweater, Serena could tell the goth girl was leaning forward a little. Was Ami concern?

Serena gave Ami another feeble smile, "Hai . . . Idzumi-kun," she wasn't surprised a brain like Ami would know about Molly's situation, the attack was all over the news, "Molly-kun is my first friend and I haven't heard . . . "

Just then Mr. Takei comes into the schoolroom, which kills the buzz of talk in the room and sends the students to their desks and chairs. What caught everyone's attention, including Serena's sleep weak eyes, which caused her to jerk her body to rod straight, was the earthy young lady following the teacher into the classroom. It was the one she saw at the school meeting, standing on the podium with the teachers and the principles. She tried to remember the name, it was on the tip of her tongue but lack of sleep made her forgetful.

"Miss Guerisser."

The blonde immediately focused on the Japanese teacher, "Hai?"

The black-haired man motioned to the lady with the turquoise hair band that pulled her raven hair back over her small ears, the lady's eyes shielded by an expensive pair of mother-of-pearl sunglasses, "This is one of our school councilors, Miss Wynona Tempus."

Even in her sleepy state Serena was able to stand, "Konnichi . . . " she catches herself when she sees the puzzled look on those beautiful features, "Good morning."

Wynona smiles, showing her even teeth, "Morning, Miss Guerisser," there was an unusual accent to her words, "the vice-principal has asked me to discuss with you about how you feel about what happened to Miss Baker."

The young body under her clothes tensed but she nods, "Alright, ma'am," she picked up her book bag while the taller woman moved toward the door.

"Don't worry, Serena, I'll give you a copy of my notes when we meet in the biology class," the blonde blinked when she heard Ami's offer, she smiled at the ivory girl before she moves to join the tanned woman at the door.

There was a rummaging of Serena was doing with her memory as she followed Native American down the hallway, her wandering gaze finally got her to notice how every inch of the young woman's body was covered by long-sleeved, reddish brown blouse, matching slacks and heelless brown shoes. They entered the school's office, a busy place with secretaries and other school councilors moving about, and the two go into Wynona's office where the tanned lady picked up the folder that has the teenager's name on it.

"I wear gloves because I have a skin condition," Serena didn't realize her baby blues were staring straight at the taller woman's hands, now noticing the brown leather gloves on those long-fingered hands.

"Opps! Sorry about that," she puts her backpack on the floor next to the chair she sits down on, "I didn't mean to stare."

"It's alright, I get that a lot since I've moved off the reservation" Wynona sits down behind her desk,  
opening the folder, her eyes scan the contents before she looks up. Her expression is polite, "I want to let you know that Miss Baker will be released from the hospital late this afternoon."

A wave of relief swiped the tired depression from Serena's mind, "Thank God."

Wynona returns the nod, "The hospital called here to inform us of the condition of Miss Baker, one of our students," she crossed her arms, "which leads me to my first question, Miss Guerisser . . . "

"Please, Miss Tempus, could you call me, Serena," the blonde knew she was taking a risk, "I've never been one for formal conversations."

"Only if you call me, Wynona," another polite smile from the young lady, "Now tell me, Serena, how do you feel about your classmate being attacked?"

The shift in gears put an icicle into the blonde's soul, "Yes, Wynona," she sits more upright in the chair,  
"Well . . . really badly because Molly lives next door to me yet I didn't hear her screams because I was in the shower," got to keep her story straight.

"You slept well last night?"

"Awful actually, I couldn't forget the sight of Molly being taken out on the stretcher."

"Did you have any dreams?"

"Yes . . . " now she was in a pickle, and the teen bit her lower lip. Could she lie to this lady and make it believable? "I was at Molly's grave . . . putting flowers on her grave . . . feeling hollow inside."

"I see," Serena's nervousness didn't go away, the sunglasses perched on Wynona's nose stopped her from telling if her fib was accepted or not. "Did you feel glad it was Molly's home instead of your home that the attacker entered?"

"NO!" The odango girl was already halfway out of the chair before her hands clench the armrests,  
stopping her cold. Wynona's reaction to Serena's outburst was to give the student a mild look, making the blonde feel even more guilty, "Sorry . . . ma'am . . . Wynona," she lowered herself back into the chair.

"That is alright, Serena," she gives a slight nod, "these questions are meant to get a reaction from you so I can learn if you need help and what kind," her eyes glance down at the folder on her desk, "for example I'm sure that your immersion into a formal education system has been a major cause of stress in you."

"Huh?"

A couple of blinks from the blonde caused the raven-haired woman to broaden her smile, "I mean that going to school with other students must be a downer at times."

"Oh, that," Serena relaxed once more, "It's new, yes, but being around others my age is a blast," she gave an eager nod, "and I've been in much more crowded places that this before."

"Like Calcutta?"

"Oh, yeah!" she leaned to one side, her usual bright smile firmly in place, "and Bombay and Beijing and Hong Kong before my parents took me and by brother up into the Yukon Territory."

"It must have been dangerous to live in those places?"

"Well, any place is dangerous if you don't understand the rules of survival."

"And you do?"

"Yep!" Serena counted off on her fingers, "One: Don't talk to strangers. Two: Never walk by yourself,  
always walk with your friends or parents. Three: Be sure of your surroundings. Four: Be sure of what you are eating. Five: Show respect to other people's culture and traditions."

"You seem wise for your age, Serena?"

Sarcasm? Praise? It was so bloody hard for Serena to tell because of those dark lenses shielding her councilor's eyes, "Me? Wise?" a bark of laughter from the teen, "Nah! Just my parents making sure their daughter knew how to handle herself when they were busy with their work," she decides some humble pie was called for, "besides my parents always made sure me and my brother had a nanny when we were in a big city."

"Did you help your parents with their projects?"

"Yeah, once I got older but later I helped take care of my brother, Samuel."

"Did you resent taking care of your younger sibling?"

"Nope, I enjoyed taking care of Sammy," her tendered smile quickly changed to a pout, "he only later became a royal pain in the you-know-what."

"I see," the raven-haired girl closes the folder before she holds out a hall pass to the blonde, "I think that is all for now, Serena."

Serena blinks. Is that all the questions? She was expecting a grilling similar to the one the police gave her, "Eh . . . okay," standing up she takes the offered slip of paper.

A loud caw coming from the blinder-covered window caused Serena to fumble the slip of paper,  
exclaiming, "Ack!"

"Buffalo Pea," a frown upon Wynona's lips as she goes to the window, "bad bird," pulled the blinder up, "you scared Serena."

"A raven?" Serena had seen plenty of ravens and crows in her life and more since arriving here at Evanston, it was she hadn't noticed the window behind the blinders was open. Then comes a flutter of black feathers and another raven, slightly smaller than the first raven landed on the ledge, "Two ravens?"

"Oh, I see you brought your girlfriend with you," the gentle stroke of the big raven chest showed no fear before she turns to the curious blonde, "Serena, this is my pet, Buffalo Pea, and his mate, Moon Glow."

Serena can't think of anything more than to give the two black birds a little wave, "Hi there."

Buffalo Pea cawed again while Moon Glow flew between Wynona and Serena to land on a wooden pole that Serena had originally assumed was a coat rack. The blonde takes a step toward the small raven, who was now taking what looked like jerky from a small bowl. She wasn't looking at the bird,  
her eyes were locked on the intricate images she saw: doves, apples, lambs and a face?

"Caw!"

"Ah!" Serena's hands are up to protect her face from the claws and beating wings of Buffalo Pea as the bird flew into her face.

"Buffalo Pea!"

At once the raven broke off its attack to land on the bird perch next to its mate, the creature's beady eyes stare at Serena, cawing at the blonde, the warning is quite clear to her. The teen looks at her hands and forearms, sighing at seeing for scratches on them.

"I'm sorry, Serena, Buffalo Pea is protective of his mate," she gives the indignant raven a cool glare.

Serena smiles politely, "It's alright, Wynona, with the amount of time I've had around wild animals I should know better," she flipped open a compact she took out of her backpack, and more relieved to see from her reflection on the lid's mirror that her face was untouched.

There was a dismayed look on Wynona's lips, "I've had the two ravens since I was a child," her hand gently ruffled the male raven's breast features, "and growing up on the reservation has left me a little jaded when it comes to how others react to them."

"Because the raven is a sacred bird," the blonde still couldn't read the raven-haired girl's eyes but the language spoke volumes, "North America isn't the only place where they are so honor."

A slight nod comes from Wynona, "Indeed," she then picks up the slip of paper Serena dropped and gave it to the teen once more, "Just remember that I'm here to answer your questions and offer advice"  
Wynona stands up and holds out her hand, "I want you to feel I'm someone you can trust."

"I will, Wynona," the young girl leaves the councilor but as she walked down the hallway, going back to her Japanese class, she was still seeing the images of the carved pole and the face up near the crossbeam that was used as the perch. The face didn't look like Serena's although it did look European, yet there were the twin hair buns above the face and the way the two ponytails flow from them, twisting around and becoming the pole itself, with the animals resting in the locks.

Third Period: Room 322, Biology Class

The bell for the next class rang as Serena entered the Japanese class so she didn't get much chance to say anything to Ami except to get the notes from her classmate, say thanks and head for her English class. The English teacher gave her a list of books to select from for her first book report as well as give her a list of words to look up and memorize for Friday's test.

At entering her Biology Class, the blonde raised her hand to give Ami a wave but the gesture lost all of its heart at the sight of the empty seat next to Melvin. She knew Molly was safe, she knew her friend was alive, but it looked so wrong not to find the redhead sitting next to her boyfriend.

"Hi, Serena," Serena blinked at the goofy grin on Melvin's face and he held out his cellphone to the blonde, motioning for her to take it.

Serena took the phone, looked at the tiny screen and burst out laughing, and she laughed and laughed and laughed, tears of joys trickling down her rosy cheeks as she struggled to her seat on plop down,  
her hand still holding the tiny machine. Already seated next to the tickled-pink blonde, Ami's owlish expression had a sapphire sparkle in her bottomless eyes. It was a normal reaction that even got to Andrew when he came from his desk to investigate the disruption after the school chimes go off, he chuckled as he read the words on the screen while bending over Serena's shoulder.

The words? Simple:

MOLLY: GO GET THEM, TIGER!!!

It felt so good to laugh, for Serena, to feel her anguish spilt from her eyes and hear the sounds of cheer around her, she is even able to let out an aww when Andrew said, "Now, class, time for me to teach and for you to learn."

"Here you go, Melvin," Serena gave the phone back to the brown-haired teenager, "and thanks a lot"  
she then gave the boy a puzzled look, "but why the message from Molly? Didn't you see her this morning?"

"When I got there, Molly was still sedated in a deep sleep," Melvin takes the cellphone from Serena,  
"and they wouldn't let me see her because I'm not a family member."

An icy finger once more ran down Serena's spine. What if the Fallen were trying to pump Molly of what she knew of Sailor Moon or try to brainwash her, but then she remembered the message, "So this is Molly's way of letting you she's doing fine."

Melvin nods and turns his attention back to the front of the class as did everyone else focused on Andrew as he begins his lecture. For the first time since the combat Serena felt better about what she did, but as she listened to her teacher and wrote down her notes, she would occasionally glance over at Ami. She couldn't help but be attracted to the blatant way the super genius held herself apart from the rest of the student body. Then there was the laptop that Ami had with her, a Sony, and the way her pale hands move over the keyboard at an incredible speed. Serena had seen office personnel do the same thing but only a few could match Ami's speed or skill, not one word on the bright screen was misspelled.

The class bell chimed and Serena began to put her notes away when Ami spoke up, "Here is a copy of my notes from our Japanese language class," the blonde looked up to find the goth girl holding out a CD case to her.

"Thanks, Ami," Serena takes the CD, "I hope I can return the favor to you soon."

"But there is something else you want to ask me, isn't there," a blank look appeared on the odango girl's face, "at least that is what your tone told me."

"Oh, yeah!" Serena giggled softly as she stood up, "I didn't know I was being so obvious about my curiosity about you, Ami."

"Why don't you ask Melvin?" Ami looked over her shoulder at Melvin, "I'm sure he has most of the answers," the gaze got the bespectacled teen to make tracks to the door.

"No-no," Serena waved her hands in mock surrender as she was reminded of what happened to Melvin's science project, "it isn't anything I really need to know," she picks up her backpack and walks with Ami toward the door.

"You can ask, Serena," Ami's words caused the blonde some surprise, "I really don't have anything to hide."

"Really?" the sound of Ami's black army boots matched her nod, "My questions could be too personal."

"Like the reason why I'm so pale yet don't have pink eyes like an albino." The blonde's jaw dropped open, "No, it's not mind reading either," an air of superiority crept into the goth girl's words, "just deductive reasoning."

"Oh," Serena couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed, instead she asked, "so the answer is?"

"I suffer from a genetic defect similar to vitiligo," the blonde couldn't help but noticed how the students gave them a wide berth, well as much as a crowded hallway could, "I have no skin pigmentation, which also means I need to be fully clothed whenever I go outside to prevent severe sunburn," they reach Ami's locker first, "but unlike albinism I don't have white hair nor pink eyes although I do need to wear sunglasses when outside."

"Eh . . . " Serena's tone showed some concern, "doesn't it get hot wearing all these clothes during the summer?"

"I'm use to it, Serena," Ami opens her locker and retrieved her lunch bucket, "just as I'm use to students avoiding me like I've got AIDS."

"I don't," Serena puts on her patient smile, "I think you're the cat's meow, Ami."

Ami's head moved slightly forward to stare deeply into a pair of baby blues, her soft words reaching her classmate, "I hope you say the same thing on Christmas Eve." Was there hope or pessimism, belief or deduction? Serena couldn't tell what was in those lake blue eyes. The clang of the locker and her vision cloaked by a braid of raven hair caused the blonde to blink, snapping the blonde out of her musing, "I see you in PE, Serena."

Serena opens her mouth, wanting to say something to Ami, something witty or insightful even to the back of the leaving girl, but a new voice spoke before she could, "Yo, Serena!"

"Hi, Lita," the aftereffects of Ami's last words show on Serena's face.

"Whoa, GF," coming up Lita had seen the tail end of the previous discussion, "did the school genius smack you down?"

"Sort of," Serena gives one more glance in the direction the goth girl had gone. "Well, let me get my lunch and we can find a place to eat."

"Yeah, hopefully we won't have to play dodge ball at the same time," Lita gave Serena a wink as she followed the blonde. The giggle coming from Serena lightened the mood, "Now that sounds more like the spark plug I met yesterday."

"Thanks," Serena smiled before she sighed, "It's just one of those days," they reach her locker, "what with Molly being attacked yesterday and the police asking me questions," she opened the lock, "I've been in and out of the dumpster all day."

"I noticed," Lita held her lunch bucket with both hands in front of her.

Serena pulled open her nodded, "Sorry about that, Lita, heaven on my mind sort of thing," she takes her lunch bucket out before facing her friend, "So where do we eat?"

"Follow me, GF," Lita leads her friend to the stairs and they begin to go up.

"We're eating in one of the classrooms?" Serena didn't sound trill with the idea, three walls and windows she was getting enough before and after lunch.

"Nope," Lita pointed up with her right forefinger, "higher"

"Oh," Serena's eyes perk up. Up, up, up and then a single door which Lita opens to the main building roof, "Cool!"

"You like?" Lita grins, the gravel of the flat roof crunched under their feet.

"Just like in an anime!" Serena is almost hopping as she noticed the edge of the roof is lined with a twenty-feet storm fence.

"I thought you might like it," Lita sat at one of the several sets of steel tables and matching chairs,  
"although you can't move the tables or chairs."

Serena saw what Lita meant, iron rings around the table legs and the chair legs held them firmly to flat blocks of concrete, "No lie," she planted herself next to the redhead, "Andre the Giant you have to be to lift one of those."

"Andre the Giant?" Lita opened her lunch bucket, "Who?"

"You mustn't be a wrestling . . . " Serena interrupted herself as her nose picked up an aroma, "aw . . . ,  
is that what I think it is?"

"Yep!" Out of Lita's lunch bucket came silverware, her thermos and three containers of various sizes,  
"New Orleans sausage gumbo, hot spiced cider, shrimp salad and rum drizzled angel food cake." If this was an anime show drool would be dripping from Serena's mouth while she held her silverware at attacking position, "What about your lunch?"

Serena blinks and then giggles, "Nothing as fancy as yours, Lita," the odango blonde opened her own lunch bucket, "Just a tuna fish sandwich, apple slices and a thermos of milk."

"All donations to our meal are appreciated," Lita's emerald eyes glitter with amusement as she watched Serena pull out her containers from her lunch bucket, but then the redhead's turned serious, "You can come out of hiding and join us," her voice loud, "we are just two defenseless girls."

"Eh?" At a twisting of her neck, Serena spotted a boy wearing thick glasses coming out from behind the roof entrance, "Melvin?"

"Sorry, Serena, I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Melvin edged slowly toward the door, "I came up here because the wireless reception here is the best," he held up his laptop.

"That's alright, Melvin," Serena eagerly opened the containers for both her and Lita, "join us, there's plenty for all."

"I've already eaten but I don't mind watching," Melvin stopped going for the door, "if you don't mind."

"More the merrier," from Lita's tone Serena could tell her friend was carefully studying Melvin, "I'm Alithea Woods but everyone calls me Lita." The thoughtful look deepened at the change of the boy's expression, "You heard of me?"

"He has," Serena took the sandwich out of its container and poured half the gumbo in it, "Melvin is the Curious George of the high school," she nods in the young man, "him and his computer."

Lita took up a spoon and took a bite of the gumbo, "Are you the reason why Serena knew about my background?"

Melvin laughed nervously as he sat down, "Yeah, sorry about that," scratches the back of his head, "I told my girlfriend and she told Serena. I don't blab what I know to everyone," he placed his laptop on the table, "but I do answer questions when I think it's appropriate."

"Why do you . . . need better reception . . . privacy to go on the net?"

With eyebrows up, Melvin was caught off-guard by Serena's question, the blonde shoving the food into her mouth. He looked at both girls, clearing thinking before he opened his laptop and turned it on, "I'm trying to see if there is a connection between the attack on Molly and the murder of Jennifer Morrison."

Chalk had more color than what Serena's face and Lita's reaction was clearly negative, her right hand flashing out and rapping her knuckles on the top of Melvin's head, "Tactless aren't you, Einstein," her words growls out, "You just couldn't delay until after we ate to drop that bomb," despite her tone the redhead took a big bite of her share of a tuna sandwich.

It took supreme effort for Serena to continue eating, saying, "Tell us."

Melvin gave Lita a sweat drop look which the tall teen rewarded with a slight nod, "Well, Serena, since you are a newcomer to Evenston," he plugs in a laser mouse, "you don't know about the string of unsolved murders of young teenage girls in and around the suburbs of Chicago." Serena fought to keep her eyes from showing her knowledge, trying to keep Melvin and Lita from realizing she knew about the murders, allowing only her pallid face to hide the fact, her hands kept busy putting food in her mouth. The brown-haired boy accepted the petite girl's silence as agreement, "So I was using my laptop to access police files at the Evenston Police Department as well as those at other police departments, whose jurisdiction covered those other murders."

A disgruntled noise comes from Lita, "So what, a couple of white girls get killed and everyone gets on the police backs," she takes a big gulp of milk, "but when sisters from my hood get killed, it's just another bunch of ghetto bunnies get offed by their own."

"Although those numbers are going down since Sailor V showed up," the sound of Melvin's typing punctuated his words, "in fact your neighborhood seems to be in the middle of her activities."

Two green eyes narrow and Melvin seemed to cringe but Lita went back to eating, "I've seen her."

Serena's black mood vanished and Melvin's typing stopped, "You have?" Serena's full mouth slurred the words.

Lita shrugged and popped an apple slice in her mouth, "She's just some blonde saltine wearing a trashy outfit that would give any man over the age of ten a moose in his pants," Serena almost choked on her own food and Melvin's blushed, "and I would've kicked those bangers' butt without her jumping in."

"Sailor V rescued you . . . " The image of Sailor Moon in her head caused Serena's cheeks all rosy,  
making her wonder if the uniform was adjustable, but then an idea popped into her head, "Melvin, is that why you knew about Lita, because she was rescued by Sailor V?"

"I wasn't rescued," Lita complained as she picked up the cyan cup that had the milk in it.

Melvin shakes her head, "Actually I was checking out the deaths of Alithea's parents . . . " too late, the boy tried to stop himself but both of them could see the pain flash in the tall girl's expression.

"Go on, four eyes," a soul in pain, that was what Serena heard in Lita's voice, "what about my parents."

Sweat on Melvin's forehead, "Um . . . you see my parents are police officers and . . . they are concern about police competence," Serena could miss the brown-haired youth's nervous glances at the ginger-haired girl, "the detectives assigned to some murders cases . . . eh . . . they don't have a great closed case percentage."

The sound of plastic breaking, Serena's eyes go wide as they lock on Lita's right hand, the scattered remains of one of the plastic cap cups there, "Lita! Your hand!"

"Fuck . . . " Lita looked at her hand, turning it over, staring. "Sorry, GF . . . " Milk all over the table,  
Melvin panicky lifted his laptop off it, "get you a new cup for your thermos."

"Forget the cup!" Serena is off her seat, taking Lita's hand, opening it carefully, gently picking out the plastic, "Thank God, just a slight cut on your life line," she smiles gently at her tall friend, "you should go see the nurse."

Lita grinned, "For a scratch like this?" Serena could still see sadness in the corner's of those emerald eyes, "I'll get a bandage when we go to Home Eco."

"Alright," Serena replied after giving Lita a hard look and let go of the redhead's hand, "but I get to put the bandage on, okay?"

Lita nodded before she turned her eyes back to Melvin, "What about the guy that attacked your girl,  
Melvin," her green eyes flashing, "he could be a serial killer like that guy who killed and ate those boys."

"We might never know for sure," the brown-haired teen frowned while helping Serena wrapped up the split milk, "He died on the operating table."

Died?

Died.

"GF?"

The ground felt missing under Serena's feet, like nothing was there. Her stomach felt overstuffed, she could feel it in her throat, wanting to get out of her mouth and she turned away from Lita and Melvin,  
barely able to make it to the garbage can, grasping the cement holding and plunging her head down as she opened her mouth. Her stomach heaved, the acid taste of the food shoot out of her mouth, the smell of it in her nose and a hand on her back gently rubbing between her shoulder blades.

"It's alright, Serena," the voice was Lita's, soothing, "I didn't know you were so sensitive about such things like that," the hand rubbing in a circular motion between the blonde's shoulder blades, "I won't make that mistake again."

The man was dead, he died because Sailor Moon hit him too hard. She had killed someone, murdered someone and responsible for his death. She had sinned against God. She didn't want help, didn't want anyone telling her it was all right. She was a murderer. Dry heaves were hitting her system, noises coming from her as her body kept trying to cleanse her soul.

"Serena?"

"I...I better clean up . . . " the face that looked at Lita was bone white, "See you . . . next class . . . "  
Serena grabbed her backpack and fled from the rooftop, running down the stairs, ears ringing of the friend's shouts but she didn't look back. It was as if the hounds of Hell were dogging her heels.

Fourth Period: Room 344, Home Economics

Serena politely asked the Home Economics teacher if she could just sit out in the hall. The teacher could see how green around the gills the blonde was and asked if she was ill. The teen nodded, said she lost her lunch. The teacher nodded and let Serena sit outside on a bench, the adult suggesting the teen should go to the nurse's office. Lita was the last student to get into class and she smiled at Serena,  
placing her friend's lunch box next to the blonde but not saying anything. Serena glanced up, nodded her thanks but she kept her eyes firmly on the floor. Once her tall friend was inside and the hallway became empty, the teen slipped her cross and prayer beads out of her shirt and her lips begin to move as counted the dark brown beads. It was worse than before, Serena straggled with each phrase, the sound of her own voice, how hollow, how much the words taste like ashes. It wasn't that she didn't believe the words anymore or that her love for Christ was any lesser than before, it was just she felt unworthy of the love given to her by God through Jesus. She had sinned, taken a life that couldn't be given back.

"Thou shalt not kill."

Serena jumped at the words before she realized it was her own voice.

"Chill out, GF?" It is Lita that Serena's baby blues saw and she blinked, now notices that the hallway is full of students heading for their next class, one hand of the amber teen reaching out to her friend, "do you want to go to the nurse's office?"

A shake of her blonde head is Serena's reply and she let her worry beads to slip back down her top as she stands, "No," her own footfalls mixing with the sounds of other feet moving with Lita just a few steps behind her.

Fifth Period: Gym

The shrill sound of a whistle broke the chatter of the girls gathered on the floor, "Ladies!"

The voices of the teenagers disappear although one of them hadn't been chatting, Serena. For her gym was turning out to be worse than Home Economics. There was a coldness to Ami's aloft attitude. The pale girl's onyx orbs empty of emotion whenever the blonde's own gaze turned to her. The goth girl seeming to be even more of a loner in the crowd of teenage females. Another straw to break Serena's back and another guilt for her to bear. She could also feel Lita's physical presence sticking close to her like iron slivers to a magnet, yet even that attempt at protective comfort kept reminding the odango girl what she had done to her friend's food.

"Today will be Volleyball so I'll pick the captains for the teams and let them decide the teams." Two arms went up with hands waving fanatically at Kineta MacClean, causing the P.E. Teacher to roll her eyes, "and yes, Miss Spencer, you can be one of the captains since it would make sense with you being a professional volleyball player and all."

"Golly good!" The crimson bow in Mina's flaxen-hair bounces with the enthusiasm of its wearer as she joins the teacher, turning and giving her classmates a winning smile and flashing the sign of victory.

Mrs. MacClean frowned at Mina before she called out the other captains which included Lita. Serena could see her tall friend stiffen at the calling of her name, clearly showing her resistance to leaving her friend's side, but the smaller girl wasn't going to add the tall girl's hot anger to her misery, "Go on, Lita,  
I'll be fine."

Lita gave Serena a hard look, the emotions those emerald gems communicated to those sapphire gems,  
let both owners know that one didn't believe for a second those words nor the hand reaching, touching and squeezing the other's hand, yet when her name was called a second time, Lita stood and went to stand with the other captains and promptly picking Serena as her first choice, giving the odango girl a nod when she joined her. The picking for the teams was a little slow after the first wave since only a few of the students knew each other from junior high school, something that was lost on Serena as her depression pulled her back in deep. She becoming the instrument of reaction and not action, her following Lita to one of the volleyball courts, taking up a position on the court and barely noticing that their first opponent was Mina's team.

"I'll let you serve first," Mina flipped the ball underhanded to Lita with easy, "that way you have a fighting chance."

"Why thank you, Lady Blue Eyes," Lita caught the ball and spun it on one finger, "I'm sure you are going to regret it."

Most there didn't notice the two boys playing basketball in one of the corner baskets and those who did were perplexed by as to why Kineta let them. It was clear the P. E. Teacher saw them but she just ignored them.

It was another student of Lita's team that fired off the first serve, the setup of the return shot was a little sloppy requiring another setup but then Mina came in for the spike. The ribbon-haired teen must have iron springs for legs, the height she reached put her head above the plane of the net, even in her distrait state Serena saw it.

"SERENA!" The angle Mina took to spike the ball, Lita saw where it was going and she saw how wooden Serena stood. The redhead took a few steps before launching herself sideways and reached out as far as she could with one hand. Serena heard her name, saw the grin on Mina's face, saw black diamonds hollowed by white filling her vision for a few seconds before her whole face felt the sting of pain and the impact knocking her off her feet.

"Serena!"

"Christ! Her nose is like a fire hose!"

"You fucking beotch! You didn't need to hit it that hard!"

"Don't blow your head! How did I know she was going to stop it with her face!"

"Didn't you notice how messed up Serena was?"

"I just thought she was one of those dope babies you Americans keep popping out."

"Your saltine ass is grass, Blue Eyes!"

"You and what legion, Red!"

Voices? Whistle?

"Girls! Break it up! Make room!"

Serena can feel someone knees now holding her head off the hardwood floor, feeling something being stuffed up her nose, but her vision was still a jumble of images caused by the ringing in her head.

"She needs to get to the nurse's office! Now!"

"I can carry her!"

A new voice. From someone Serena hadn't heard before.

"I can do it!"

"No, Alithea, Alex is a professional athlete and has more endurance."

"But . . . "

"No buts! Guerisser could be suffering from concussion!"

Serena felt two set of hands lifting her up, drapping her on someone's back, feeling two slender arms wrap around her hips, strong fingers lacing together so her behind rested on them, "Grip my neck," the new voice said and the blonde complied. The blonde wrinkled and squeezed her eyes, trying to get her eyes to work right, while she could feel the person she was on turned and begin to run, but it wasn't the heavy tread of a man or jerking of impact that someone should have when carrying someone. Instead the motion was fluid under Serena, she could feel her hair fluttering out with the speed she was being carried.

Hair?

Why wasn't Serena feeling the hair of her carrier against her own face? She wished her vision would clear, her arms could tell the neck was slim and the shoulders were supple but there were muscles in there too.

The hot summer air flowed over Serena's body as they left the gym and headed for the building containing the nurse's office, but the bright light caused the odango girl to groan and her vision started to fade.

"Stay awake, Serena!"

Lita voice? Yes it was, breathy like she was running next to Serena and whoever was carrying her.  
Serena forced her eyes to stay open, tried to get her brain to stay working. Alex? Could that be Alex Kennedy, the one Molly was talking about? That would be nice, what of the body she was against felt nice, strong but not over muscled. She hated those pictures that showed men to be nothing but rippling masses of muscles, biceps and tendons, they looked so ugly.

Air cooled suddenly, sunlight replaced with soft light and footfalls echo. Were they inside a building?  
Probably. Then a door opened and a shout caused Serena's head to ache, "Nurse!"

"What's wrong?" A new voice, older, feminine and alert but not panic.

"Our friend here got hit in the face by volleyball," Lita's voice, Serena was sure of it, "her nose just flowed with blood and her eyes are glassy."

Glassy? Maybe that explained why they didn't work right.

"Put her on the bed," the calm voice replied. Serena could feel once more two pairs of hands lift her from her carrier and gently lay her on the bed, one gently smoothing her hair from her face. She could see shadows in her gaze of various shades of gray, "her nose is broken," the voice informed the group.

"We should call an ambulance." Ami? Was Ami here?

"No, I can fix her nose here," the nose of a cabinet being opened, things being taken out, "I'm certified for such things."

Someone spread the eyelids of Serena's right eye before a blinding light filled it. The odango girl hissed in pain, "Please . . . hurts," her right hand feebly pawed at the source of the light.

A collected sigh can be heard by Serena and someone said, "Well, since your cute friend seems to be still thinking, I need to head by and finish practicing with my brother, Gilbert."

"Thanks for your help, Alex, I didn't mean to sound so protective," Serena picked up an apologetic tone before she let out another hiss of pain as the glaring light did the same thing to her left eye.

"No skin off my nose, Alithea," hearing Lita groaned dramatically at the pun did make Serena feel a little better despite the dull ache, then her nose was cleaned by something damp, the top of the bridge pressed by something stiff, and layered by tap that spread onto the edges of her cheeks.

"Maybe we can play a few hoops together, I was impressed you kept up with me despite the pretty package I was carrying," it sounded to Serena like this Alex guy was flirting with Lita.

"Maybe we will and I rather be called Lita if you don't mind," a little hint of competitive fire in the redhead's words.

"Lita it is then," good humor is in Alex's words as a door is opened, "see you later," then the door closed.

"There, there, young lady," Serena focused on the nurse's voice, "your nose should be fine as long as you don't bump it against anything," color was back in her vision although the images were still blurred,  
the nurse a mess of white, pink and brown, "and you only have mild concussion so I'm going to give you a note to excuse you from P. E. for the rest of the week."

"Ah ha . . . " Serena sounded like she had gone a several rounds with Mohammed Ali and by crossing her eyes she could see her bandaged nose, "Sorry for being a bother Miss . . . "

"Bellamorte, Melissa T. Bellamorte," her voice was polite as she pulled a sheet and blanket to Serena's neck, "now rest here while I talk to your friends and see if they can tell your sixth period teacher that you are going to miss the class," Serena heard the rustling of sheets and she tilts her head enough to see that the bed is surrounded by a white sheet divider. She could hear the low voices of the nurse, Lita and Ami but not the words they were using. Then came the opening and closing of the front door and the rustle of the divider occurred followed by the woman's voice, "Your friends have gone to your gym class and to your next class to let the teachers know what happened to you."

Serena blinked several times, her vision cleared and she could make out the nurse's features better,  
indeed a young woman with platinum blonde hair, delicate bone structured face and pale amber eyes,  
"Oh, Okay," suddenly the odango blonde hated the way she sounded, muffled and weak. Wasn't she suppose to be a hero, yet here she was in bed in the nurse's office, her nose pancaked by volleyball.

"I'll be back momentary, I need to go to my desk and call your parents to let them know what happened," Melissa's white teeth shined in the soft light. "Would you like me to ask them to pick you?"

"No, I can make it home," again that weak, muffled voice, it grated on Serena's nerves.

"All right," Melissa turned and leaves the bedside and after a moment Serena could pick up the sound of a click, guessing that the nurse had gone into her private office to call Serena's parents.

It took seconds for Serena's self-loathing to magnify by what had happened. She is supposed to be Sailor Moon, a hero, yet she allowed her own emotions to leave her weak and indecisive, costing the life of another to save the life of another. Luna had to be wrong, she couldn't be the Instrument of Peace. Even now as the conflict raged inside of her mind, she clutched her cross, tried to calm her mind with the rosary like she had this morning, but there was something wrong. The calm eluded her, fled from her soul, the words summon none of the peace and comfort of before. She had killed, murdered,  
and now the grace was gone.

A soft sob left Serena's lips and she pulled herself out of the bed, the white sheet falling away from her body as she stood, feeling lightheaded for a moment as she stumbled through the divider into the office,  
trying to get her eyes to focus properly, feeling the tears upon her cheeks but not sure it was because her eyes hurt or because her soul hurt. It was an uncontrollable feeling of hopelessness that ate away at the blonde's fragile being. Was this how the condemned felt like, the loss of hope, of love, of forgiveness? She sensed her hands opening doors, her feet moving, running. Was she running away,  
fleeing from what took away her grace or was she running to find a way back? Back to where?

The garden. Yes. The peace, the joy and the warmth. The fields of rolling grasses, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil standing tall and noble, the sounds of birds and squirrels amongst its heavy branches, the butterflies moving from flower to flower as did the honey bees and bumblebees,  
the rivers flowing between flowering meadows, the snow-capped mountains breaking above wisps of clouds, and the animals coexisting with each other. No taking of life for the need to kill was no longer there. The harmony of living, caring and belonging was everywhere.

Sun, hot. Serena's chest heaving, her lungs burn for need of oxygen, her tendons threatening to knot and knot again. She can't breathe through her nose. Why? Oh, her nose is broken. Her green sweats soaked with sweat and her long hair tails sticking. Sweats? Serena noticed she is still wearing her gym clothes with the school name decorated with drops of her blood. Finally catching her breath she found herself almost straddling a steel guardrail and before her was a gray granite staircase, the measured steps leading up a small hill, which upon its crest was a church. The style was clearly Neo-Gothic done on a small scale. The spires and bell towers stretching to the sky, the oval and oblong windows filled with stain glass. A large door was set in deep inside of a stone entrance layered by arches.

The Church of Mary Magdalene is the title found on the large wooden plaque hanging from the hooked signpost. Was someone trying to help her? A year ago she would have passed this off as just the randomness of life but after meeting Luna and all the talk of destiny and Sailor Moon, she wasn't sure anymore where predetermination ended and freewill began, yet her curiosity was roused out of the windstorm of emotions that were making a prisoner of her being.

It was cool in the shadows of the arches and upon close examination of the door Serena found it to be two doors instead of one, and adhering to the center of each there was two unrolled scrolls made of lead, the writing on the left one was in Latin while the other one was in Greek. The running must have done her some good because the petite blonde was able to focus on the punched lettering. Her parents were traditional Catholics so while she could read Latin fluently, the only Greek she knew were from her Sunday School lessons, which were several years old. Slowly she mouthed the words of the Latin script, linked each one to the other until she recognized the words came from Saint Augustine, "Est autem fides credere quod nondum vides; cuius fidei merces est videre quod credis," she calmly says before translating, "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." Turning to the other script there was a pause and a groan from her lips, she struggled to understand the words since her Greek was worse of the worse. Finally the words clicked together for her and an icy finger ran up and down her spine at their source, the first chapter of the Gospel of John and their possible meaning, "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it."

Serena hadn't noticed her hand was moving over the Greek script until when she reached the end, and the slight pressure of her fingers caused the door slowly swung open on oiled hinges. She blinked,  
waited for her eyes to adjust to the candlelight before she entered the place of worship. Hanging ponytails frame her face as she looked to either side, letting her eyes adjust to the tinted light inside the House of God. At not finding anyone inside she stepped in and lifted her head to scan the vaulted arches that allow the freestanding walls to look thin and arty, the stain glass windows lit the world with tales for the worshipers to witness. Slowly Serena walked down the middle pathway between the pews, her baby blues noting that the usual steel rod at the bottom to allow people to kneel without difficulty was missing. The stories of the stain windows were the normal ones you would expect at a Catholic church until she got to the one located above the cross from which hangs Christ, his expression of divine agony, his torn and tortured body showing what the price he paid to give each of us a chance to live in his Father's kingdom.

Feet glued to the floor, it would have looked like that to any passerby should they see Serena standing before the altar, her head turned up due to shock. There was a divine glow coming from this moon white-haired woman's face, her hands holding a cup above her blissful face while abstract flows of holy water gush from the bejeweled yellow cup to empty into the deep below her feet, but she didn't stand upon the calmed surface. Instead the figure wearing white plate armor sat upon the edge of a full moon.

"Sailor Moon?" Serena's blinked hard at how her soft whisper was magnify to echo within this house of stone and she looked about again to check for peepers but found none. Again she studied the portrait and then studied the other windows, immediately realizing that the others were about the strong and divine women of the Holy Book. Again she felt her own inferiority rest upon her young shoulders, her spirit feeling the burden of what this church seemed to represent, and in this state her drifting gaze caught sight of the confessional.

Traditional. That would best describe the confessional. Oak, several layers of lacquer, the two tiny rooms made as one, one for those who confess and feel guilt, one for those who listen and forgive.  
Serena touched the top of the door and ran her hand down to the ring doorknob. She opened the door to find a hard wood stool and then the gingerbread window that once slid open would allow the priest to interact with the person seeking penitence.

"Confession?" Was this the reason she ran from her school, her soul full of grief and sin seeking cleansing? Was her flight one of blind emotion? Serena stared at the unpadded seat fore several minutes before she stepped into the device, sat down and closed the door.

The sound of the window being slid open caught Serena totally by surprise. Someone had been in here all this time? The blonde was in a panic but quickly she iced her fear, silently chiding herself about not showing proper respect to the priest waiting for her to confess her sins, "Bless me Father," someone trained to honor the sanctity of the confession, "It has been several years since I've confessed my sins due to my parents living where there was no Catholic priest." She paused for a minute in case the priest wanted to say something, but when no words were spoken, she continued, "There are many sins a girl like I have made, what with an annoying little brother or mean spirited girls or overbearing adults, but I always believed since God had a son he wouldn't hold any of these against me." Again another pause by the blonde, again silence, but this time she has to force the words out of her brain and out of her mouth, "Today . . . I discovered . . . the man I stopped from killing a friend of mine . . . died . . . "  
tears trickled down her cheeks, "I killed him . . . but . . . but . . . he won't be the last . . . I . . . I have a destiny . . . to fight . . . to protect . . . and there are others . . . they want to kill me . . . to kill my friends . . . to kill my family . . . kill people . . . " she is shaking now, "but God said . . . thou shalt not kill . . . " her body bent over, "Jesus said . . . he who lives by the sword . . . dies by the sword . . . "  
her head touching her knees, "I . . . I don't want to kill."

Serena sobbed in the silence that greeted her confession, waiting, waiting, waiting for the priest to give his advice to her, to assign her penance and to ask her to say the Act of Contrition. The silence so unbearable, the very emptiness riding her back, bending her soul to match her body until she couldn't bear it any more. Her body springing from the stool, her right hand barely unlocking the door before her body smashing into it sends it open.

"Stop."

Serena stopped like the word erected an invisible barrier in front of her. Both fear and hope ricocheted within her being, her body turned to face the speaker, but her mouth dropped open at the sight of who is standing there, "Sister?"

Indeed a nun is standing there but not any ordinary nun either, the complete virgin white of every piece of her uniform told Serena this was a nun-in-training. The face framed by the cowl looked young,  
Hispanic or Latino, with her eyes a rich coffee brown or black and lips thin. Serena could tell that even under the formless clothing, the nun was a little taller than the blonde with a body modest in portions.  
Then Serena's heart beat as loud as drums in her ears when she saw one of the nun's hands resting on the door to the confessional.

"Sister . . . ?" Serena said again, a pleading tone now to the word. Would the nun keep her secret?  
There was nothing, no oath that kept her lips of a nun-in-training closed. Was she a member of the Fallen? Did she hide in the confessional so to learn of others' sins and use those weaknesses against worshipers? Was this supposed to happen, was this how she was being punished for breaking God's commandment, a payment of a life for a life? A ruffle of cloth, the sound of light steps, a whimper of fear came from Serena's lips as the nun moved closer.

A smile, it appeared on the nun's face, her eyes full of gentleness, the surprise of seeing both confused Serena, then the words came, "May the Almighty God have mercy on you, and forgiving of your sins,  
bring you to life everlasting. Amen." The billowing sleeve of her nun garb slipped back as she raised her right arm, revealing a bluish-white glow around a young hand, "May the Almighty and Merciful God grant you pardon, absolution, and remission of your sins." Serena felt a spark of hope inside of her, then it became a crashing waterfall as two soft fingertips touched her forehead, drawing a cross upon it,  
"May Our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you, and I, by His authority, absolve you from every bond of excommunication and interdict as far as I can and you may need. Three more crosses drawn upon her forehead, the purity of the waters filling her soul up to overflowing, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Serena's own mouth began to move, silent words matching the words spoken to her, her soul cleansed, "May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the Saints, what good you have done or what evil you have suffered be to you for the remission of sins, growth in grace and the reward of everlasting life. Amen."

The final word wrap around Serena's being, the absolution had long since washed her surroundings from her sight, and it is a long time before reality winked by into existence. It was the cool stone her knees touch the petite blonde noticed first, the second thing she noticed was her head bowed and her hands pressed together in prayer. This in of itself would be pleasing to the odango blonde, but what really surprised her was finding the nun kneeling in front of her, the white-clad lady hugging her tight and a soft whisper in Spanish coming from within the cowled head, "Con la ayuda de la Virgen Maria le he encontrado."

"Maria? My name is Serenity?" Serena blinked several times, surprised by how normal her own voice sound, the anguish and pain she felt the whole were still there, but had become manageable. "You better explain yourself, Sister, I've got a lot of people looking to put my pretty head on a platter," she wanted to sound tough although after what just happened she felt more like dancing for joy, "maybe by first telling me your name since you now know mine."

The nun gave Serena a curious look, tilting her head slightly, "Don't you know who I am, Instrument of Peace, you did come to me for confession and absolution?"

"I'm a fourteen-year-old girl who got drafted into this magical girl story by a high-minded black cat," the nun's eyes narrow but Serena continued, "I know I'm this Instrument of Peace, this Sailor Moon,  
created to protect all mankind from the Fallen, but other than a few bits and pieces I'm just as clueless as the next person."

The nun gave Serena a measured look before saying, "My name is Raye Ceniza Perez, I was born in Panama City, Panama, but I came to live with my mother's father after my parents died when I was five. My grandfather, Father Patrick Deiria, is the senior Father here at this church," a hunt of pride at the mention of her grandfather, "and I go to Saint Mary's School for Proper Ladies and I plan to become a nun after graduation."

"But you are more than a nun-in-training isn't you, Raye," Serena's looked up into the taller girl's face,  
"or you wouldn't have been able to give me absolution."

Raye nodded, her cheeks tint, "Since I was a little girl I've had versions and dreams that come true"  
then her eyes flicker with ire, "I've also seen things, creatures, who look and act like people but are not," then she frowned, "and I'm sure there are others who cloak their true selves from me with their coat of multicolors."

"The Fallen?" The word came out even before Serena could stop herself from saying it. Raye nodded once more before standing up and helping the petite girl to stand, "Well, you haven't given me my penance nor have I said the Contrition."

It looked to Serena that Raye realized her mistake but the nun decided to follow a different track, "First let me ask you about this person you murdered," the pit of Serena's stomach suddenly felt bottomless.  
"When you stopped your friend from being killed, did you know at the time of any other way of saving her life?" Serena shook her head. "After the battle, did you know of a way to save your friend's life without taking another life?"

Serena thought for a moment, thinking about the exorcism she performed, finally noticing the amount of time it took her to do the ritual and wondering if she could have done it while being attacked, "No, I don't think so."

"Was this your first battle?" Serena nodded to Raye's further questions, "How much do you know of your powers?"

"Not much, I've kind of new to this hero stuff," shame upon Serena's face, "Luna has been trying to get me use to the idea of being Sailor Moon, let alone whatever powers I have."

"Luna?"

"She's the black cat I mentioned earlier," a pout is added by Serena, "I went to the pound to get me a new pet but oh no, I couldn't get just an ordinary cat, instead I end up with a Spirit Guide with a letter informing me that I have a destiny to follow."

"A letter?"

"Figure of speech."

"Oh," a puzzled look flash across Raye's face before saying, "Then the advice I can give you is to learn what and who you are," her tone showed some puzzlement over Serena's less than stellar attitude, "the Instrument of Peace, Sailor Moon, is a holy warrior, a paladin."

Those words sank into Serena but then she looked curiously at the nun, "How did you know about me .  
. . eh . . . about the Instrument of Peace."

A glitter in those dark chocolate eyes told Serena of Raye's caught her correction, so the next words aren't really a surprise, "For your penance, Serena, you will learn to accept your destiny."

Now Serena eyes got very wide, "Hey! How do you know my nickname?"

"Probably from me, GF," both of the girls look toward the entrance to find a figure outlined in the afternoon light, "when I saw how upset you were this morning, how you were clutching your rosary, I headed over to Raye's school and caught her before the first class," the figure came into the dimness,  
"told her what you looked like, especially your unique hairstyle, and I asked her to swing by our school so she could talk to you," the back light turning her hair into a fiery halo.

"Lita!" A smile on flowered on both faces but then Serena became shamefaced, "Oh, Lita, I'm so sorry about running off!"

A flash of white showed in Lita's smile, "No problem, GF," she took out her cellphone as she joined the others, "I better call Ami so she can let the others know I found you."

Serena sighed with relief but concern butted in, her gaze going back and forth between Raye and Lita,  
she wondering how much her tall friend had overheard, the petite girl knowing that the confession needed to be completed. Raye saw Serena's worry, "You can say the Contrition, Serena," Serena saw the soft expression of friendship upon the nun's face, "Lita knows that I'm an ordained priest."

"What?"

"Chill it, girls," Lita placed her hand over the opened cellphone, "unless you want the Great Brain to know Raye's secret."

"Sorry," Serena nibbled her lower lip, thinking about how dumb it was for her not to think of this explanation of Raye's priestly power, "How . . . eh . . . when?"

"I had a dream," Raye's whispered, "I was wearing not the attire of a Bride of Christ, instead I wore the collar and frock of a priest," her tone strong, "the dream repeated itself again and again until I went to my grandfather and told him about it," determination hot in her eyes, "from that day onward he trained me for the priesthood and last year he ordained me."

Serena lets out a high-pitched whistle, "I've heard of Protestant ministers as teenagers and women, but doesn't the Catholic Church have a ban on women becoming priests let along all the requirements of going to the Seminary?"

"Grandfather shares my belief of my visions and dreams coming from God," Raye forced her voice to stay a whisper, "so not to follow the mandate they lay out for me would be to deny the destiny given to me by the Lord Almighty," her Latino accent becoming stronger the longer she spoke. "Besides the great numbers of women becoming nuns far outstretches the lesser number of men joining the priesthood, soon the ban will be lifted and I'm ready for it."

In the echo of Raye's righteous declaration Serena heard a hint of old pain, her mind's eye imagined a crying five-year-old girl, the cubby face stained by teasing words from childhood friends and scorn from disbelieving adults, "I believe you, Raye, how can I not," her gaze turned upward to look at the stain glass window above the cross.

"Yes, that is a representation of the Instrument of Peace but I do not know how or why it is here, nor why the Church of Mary Magdalene was built here," a relieved smile is on Raye's lips, she doesn't need to follow Serena's gaze to know what the blonde is looking at, "according to my Grandfather the church was built a long time ago, by the first French Catholic missionaries coming to this part of the country,  
but I have my suspicions about them being Catholic."

"Oh?" Serena returned to Raye.

"Gnostic . . . " Raye stopped at the sound of Lita closing her cellphone.

"All set, GF, Ami is going to pick us up in front of the church," Lita's smile slipped a little when she glanced about the church.

"I wish this place didn't bring you grief each time you come in here, Lita," gently Raye takes hold of Lita's right hand with both hands, "I will grieve for your loss always but it was that tragedy that brought you to me."

The shared look of tenderness between Lita and Raye and the shimmer of unshed tears in the redhead's emerald eyes made Serena feel uncomfortable and she tried as quietly as possible to tiptoe away from the two, but Raye spoke up, "You still need to say the Contrition, Miss Serenity Guerisser."

Serena stopped and faced Raye, she brought her hands up in pray, her head bowed in submission and her tone imploring, "Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins,  
because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good ad deserving of all my love. I finally resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the next occasions of sin. Amen," once more she felt her soul quiver like it was a bell.

"Remember your penance, Serena," Raye no longer held Lita's hand and the tall redhead had moved to fill the space between the two girls, "and remember you never alone when God walks with you."

Serena nodded but looked back-and-forth between Raye and Lita, the odango blonde's curiosity visible enough for a lopsided smile to appear on Lita's lips, "Alright-alright, GF, the reason I know Raye is because I used to go to Saint Mary's and I knew of her then."

Serena knew she didn't need to press Lita for more information, she could guess why her tall friend didn't go to the Catholic school anymore, with the death of Lita's parents and the high price of going to a Catholic school could very well outstrip what money the redhead's grandmother had. Instead she asked, "So you are a Catholic, Lita?"

"N-o, Baptist, National Baptist," Lita pulled out her purse and gave a blue card to Serena, "That's the address to my church in Chi-town," she gave a mischief look to Raye, "come on by both of you, I sing in the choir and we really shout our joy to God."

A giggle from Serena and a smirk from Raye, both set of eyes were happy, "Maybe I can get my parents' permission to go," the tone the blonde used suggests she didn't need to be very persuasive to succeed.

"Well, we better get out front to meet Ami," she then leans over and hugged Raye around the waist, "I'll see you tomorrow, Raye, and thanks for the help."

"I helped only little," Raye blushed at physicality of Serena's affection, "for it was God who guided the lost lamb to His home so it could be made well in both body and soul."

Serena blushed at Raye's words and followed Lita out of the church with the nun in their wake. To recover from that awkward moment the blonde asked, "So why did you go to a Catholic school, Lita?"

There wasn't an immediate answer but it came when Lita picked up her backpack where she left it at the main entrance, "For different reasons my parents rejected our heritage so they sent me to Saint Mary's to knock the ghetto out of me."

Serena blinked hard and she heard a disgruntled sound coming from Raye's direction, "You sure sounded ghetto to me, Lita, and probably to Melvin too."

Lita chuckled, "Thanks but I did that on purpose to throw a monkey wench in that boy's rumor mill"  
she leads the group out the door, "also it was the reason my parents moved to this town."

"So you are living in Chicago?" Serena stopped and turned to Raye.

"Yep, living with my mother's mother in the middle of the city," all three girls wave to each other before Serena and Lita go down the steps while Raye watched them, "but I commute to Juuban High School because even my grandmother realized I'm too much of an Oreo to go to an inner city school."

"You shouldn't talk of yourself like that, Lita," Serena frowned up at her tall friend and having to use the handrail to correct her balance, "I mean you should be proud of whom you are instead of listening to what others call you."

Lita's raised eyebrows show she was surprised, "You have some strong . . . " she stopped as a white limousine came into view. "There's Ami."

Serena's mouth dropped open, "A limo?"

"Ami Shabon doesn't flaunt it but her mother is rich," Lita grinned as she waves at the vehicle, "and her father is a famous artist so our local little gothling probably has a fat bank account to draw a monthly stipend from," the tall girl waited until the rolling piece of wealth came to a stop before adding, "and I think her mother is very protective since I've seen Ami in that ride and with a personal bodyguard."

"Bodyguard?" Serena felt a little silly at repeating her surprise and the heavy tint of the back windows reminded her of Ami's sensitivity to sunlight.

The white limousine came to a halt in front of the two girls and the back door opened, revealing a female bodyguard wearing sunglasses and a polite smile, the back organized so that two sets of seats faced each other. Ami leaned forward, "I've got your backpack, Serena," she was wearing sunglasses too, "the vice-principle was so nice in opening your gym locker for me."

"I'm so sorry for causing so much trouble for you, Ami," Serena scooted inside and sat across from the goth girl while Lita sat next to her while the bodyguard sat beside her charge, "I'll promise never to runaway again," she crossed her heart.

"Accepted, Serena," there was a flicker of emotion in Ami's pale face before she returned to her normal expression of neutrality.

A wide smile showed Serena's shinny teeth, "Rome wasn't built in a day, eh?"

Once again there is that flash of emotion in Ami's bottomless orbs but it quickly disappeared when she reached into her book bag, pulling out a small white box, "I didn't want to risk losing this for you."

Serena accepted the box and smiling wide when by opening it revealed her cross and rosary is revealed, "Thanks for keeping it safe, Ami."

"Opium."

"Eh?"

Serena noticed Lita's frown at Ami's comment but her tall friend asked, "That's a beautiful rosary, GF.  
Is it pearl? How long have you had it?"

With baby blues glancing at Ami as she undid the clasp of the rosary, Serena felt strange, she knew what opium was, had seen the effect of the drug and its derivatives in the streets of the cities of India and Africa, but what the goth girl meant the blonde didn't know nor did Ami's expression volunteer anything. Mentally shrugging Serena put the religious symbol around her slender neck, "Yes, it was my grandmother's rosary, she gave it to me as a gift for my first communion," the silver clasp clicked together behind her neck, "I was told it was made in Greece so I think the pearls and silver came from there too."

"Nice," the smile on Lita's lips looked thin to Serena and the glanced the redhead gave Ami seemed to dare the pale teen to say something. Ami returned the glance but doesn't say anything. Instead she nodded toward the bodyguard, who touched her throat with one hand, saying, "Drive to Miss Guerisser's home."

The long white car pulled out so smoothly Serena could barely tell it was moving as she put the rosary and cross under her blooded top, "Jesus H..." the petite blonde made a face as she looked down at herself, "I look like a victim from a slasher movie."

The chuckle from Lita seemed to pop the tension in the backseat and this time Serena was quick enough to catch the tiny smile on Ami's lips before it vanished. "I'll close my eyes so you can change your clothes," she smiled at the teen genius, "and I'm sure Ami would too," then she winked at Serena,  
"although I don't know about the bodyguard."

"Mrs. Chase, please close your eyes," the bodyguard nodded at Ami's order before the goth girl brought down her black lashes, "I think I'll take a nap."

Lita grinned, "Forty winks sound good and this ride is smooth," Lita sagged in the backseat, resting her head in a corner as her eyes close.

Serena's eyebrows touch her hair at hearing the breathing of both of her friends slow and deepen,  
clearly both were exhausted from helping her or both were very good actors thus pretending to sleep.  
Either way she waited a few minutes to make sure neither woke before she began to change her clothes, trying to do it as quickly as possible. As she changed, the petite blonde looked at each of her friends and tried to measure what each of them meant to her. She could tell both were complex individuals, neither one of them seemed to be your typical teenager. Molly had called Ami a goth girl while Melvin pointed out the heartaches of Lita's recent past. Serena already had an inkling that Ami was so intelligent that it made her an alien when compared to any other teenager. Lita seemed to be in the same boat as Ami but for completely different cause-and-effect. Cause: Parents death, Effect:  
outsider full of emotions. Then there was Raye. Her confessor? Yes. Her friend? It seemed that way.  
Serena already knew she owned the nun-in-training . . . correction . . . the priest for giving back to her the feeling of spiritual wholeness, feeling she was once more a part of the body of Christ, and she could think about the death she caused with regret but not with horrific grieving she was suffering. The only way Serena could repay Raye was to carry out the penance she was given, to continue being the Instrument of Peace, Sailor Moon.

"Finished?"

Two baby blues blink at the mumbled word and Serena realized she was sitting there, thinking, "Yes,  
Lita," a glance out the window also told her something else, "and we're at my home." Those same eyes look at Ami and then at Lita, "Would you like to come in and meet my family?" She let her eyes stare deeply into her friends' eyes.

There is real regret in Lita's emerald eyes and there was a hint of the same emotion in Ami's eyes, "I wish, GF, but I've got a train to catch and grand-mama expects me home for dinner," a soft smile on those painted lips, "and on time for once."

"I too have a time limit," out of her pocket Ami pulled out an old-fashioned pocket watch, Serena's eyes widen as she noticed it was gold, "I have a chess tournament to go to in Chicago." The goth girl turned her head to look at Lita, "Can I offer you a lift, Lita?"

"If you don't mind being pulled over by beat cops or being scope out by the local gangstra," Lita chuckled to take an edge off her warning, "I live in a rough neighborhood and many will think of you as some richie out slumming."

The cloak of superiority seemed to fold around Ami, at least to Serena it looked that way, the pale girl's expression becoming almost a dare, "Thank you for the warning, Lita," her gloved hand put away the watch before she pulled out a white cellphone.

Serena caught a movement from the bodyguard, a hand touching something and the door next to her and Ami popped open, "Time to rumble with your parents, Serena." The blonde tried to suppress her giggle but it still came out as a snort. A quiver of Ami's lips and the Lita's shinny eyes from her own words added to the mirth, but it did get Serena to step out of the car.

"I'll see you both tomorrow," the window rolled down enough for Serena to look in, "and thanks for caring about me."

"Whom would I find to share my lunch with," Lita winked at Serena and then grinned at Ami, "or introduce me to such lively company?" Was Ami amused? The petite blonde couldn't tell from her angle.

A simple wave came from Ami as the window rolled up while the limo pulled away, Serena watched the car until its patch brought her attention to a home with a broken front window and surrounded with yellow crime scene tape. She stood there as the events of the last four days played through her brain at warp speed and her expression became determined, "No, Luna is right, they would be killing girls even if I wasn't here."

"Hey, Serena."

A squeal of pure joy comes from Serena as she heard those words, she doesn't remember turning around or vaulting over her home's fence. It was a blink of seconds which left two girls hugging each other, and tears of relief rolling down the blonde's pink cheeks, "Molly."

"It looks like our daughter likes our pick-me-up surprise."

"I think our daughter is enjoying it just as much as your daughter is."

Serena didn't have to look up to recognize the voices of her mother and Molly's mother, all she could do was keep her face pressed to her friend's right shoulder, her muffled voice asking, "I'm so glad you're here, Molly."

Serena felt Molly's squeeze before the redhead held the blonde by her elbows, saying, "After Melvin told me about how you were going about looking like a three-day road kill, I figured I better get out of the hospital as soon as possible."

Serena noticed something in Molly's expression but could recognize it, "So you're alright?"

"A clean bill of health," Molly's emerald eyes sparkling, "of course the doctors want me to take an easy for the rest of the week," her grin got a little bigger, "which means no school until next week."

"Lucky," the false pout on Serena's face got a big smile from Molly.

"Now let me see your face, young lady," two strong arms took hold of Serena's shoulder and the teen found her concerned dad staring intensely at her face, an expression of relief on his face appeared,  
"Your nose doesn't look broken."

Broken nose?

"I agree," Ilene stood next to her husband, combing her daughter's bangs out of her face to get a better look, "the way the nurse was talking on the phone I was quite sure your father would need to take you to the hospital."

"Well, her eyes aren't puffy enough for a broken nose so I think the school nurse overreacted," Ken voice was calm as he continues to carefully hold his child's shoulders, "Serena, your head feel okay?"

"I feel fine, Papa," Serena expression showed she had completely forgot about the broken nose and her concession after what everything that had happened to her at the church, especially since neither Lita nor Ami really made an issue of it once they caught up with her.

"Then we'll take her to our family doctor tomorrow after school," Ken lets go of Serena's shoulders.

"Agreed," Ilene nodded.

She heard Molly giggle and found her friend pressing a hand mirror into one of the blonde's hand, "See for yourself, Serena."

Blonde eyebrows meeting blonde hair was Serena's reaction, the odango blonde really expected she was going to look like Sammy's raccoon, a fate worse than death in her opinion. Instead she found almost no black eyes and her nose looked only slightly swollen, "It looks like you won't need a nose job, Sis."

A quick sticking out her tongue at Sammy as Serena' initial reaction, she hasn't noticed her brother joining them, "I would rather not look like that fleabag of a pet you have, Sammy."

"Now-now, no fighting in front of our house guests," Ilene's pleasant voice stopped the sibling rivalry in its tracks, her gentle right-hand beginning to lead Serena toward the front door.

"House guests?"

"Yes, Serena," Molly walked on the other side of her blonde friend, "Your father and mother invited me, Mom and Dad to stay at your family's home until the police allow us to move back into our home."

"Cool!" Now Serena was truly surprised and delighted, she hugged her mother, hugged her father and even turned to hug her brother.

"Oh no you don't," Sammy left his sister in the dust, dodging between adults and going into the house,  
which got a laugh from everyone.

Serena giggled as she watched her brother's rapid retreat only to find her throat suddenly close around her mirth, the sight of Luna in her bedroom window plus the pissed-off look on that pussy's face,  
"Oh-oh."

"I hope Luna will get use to the crowding," Ilene also saw the black cat, "she hasn't come out of your room since the Bakers came."

"Won't help her much since I'll be bucking with Serena," Molly takes hold of Serena's right hand with her left hand, "if that is all right with you?"

"Oh . . . of course!" Serena actually loved the idea of sharing her room with her best friend, although she knew Luna was going to be even more put out.

"Good, dear," Ilene smiled, "Your father already took out the spare futon and placed it in your room"  
Serena's mother led the group into the house.

"Great! Dad!" Definitely, Luna was going to have a cow.

Guerisser Residence: Serena's Bedroom.

"I wish Mom wouldn't tease me about my cooking," Serena's voice can be heard before she opens the door to her bedroom, "I know I'm not much of a wiz in the kitchen."

"At least you know how to cook rice," Molly followed her friend into the room, spotting the futon place on the floor on the right side of Serena's bed.

A roll of eyes from Serena, "And a few other things that I can list on two hands," it isn't hard to note Serena is looking around the room.

"Looking for your cat . . . eh . . . Luna?" Molly stood next to her friend.

Serena paused and looked over her shoulder at Molly, there was something in the redhead's tone setting off bells in her blond head, "Yeah, I think her time in the animal shelter has made her leery of strangers."

"I can understand that," Molly got a strange look from her blonde friend, "I mean from a cat's point-of-view."

"Oh." Serena spotted her closet is cracked open, "I think I know where Luna is hiding."

"You don't need to drag her out if she doesn't want to meet me."

Again there was that strange tone coming from Molly, "Not a chance, Molly," Serena didn't even look back as she knelt at the closet, opened and crawled in, "Luna isn't getting her way this time." Was that a giggle from Molly? Serena decided that this day had to fit into the Guinness Book of World Records for Weird Day on Earth, especially when she spotted the moonlight glow of the horned moon on the cat's forehead, "Luna . . . " then she saw something shining under those inky paws, "Hey! My brooch."

"Keep your voice down, Serenity," Luna nose to nose with Serena, "Molly mustn't see me and I took the brooch just in case it was too much of a temptation."

"What do you mean, Luna?" Serena looked a little confused, "Molly saw you peeking out the window just now and she's too good a person to steal anything."

"Serenity, I mean she saw me yesterday during your first battle," an eon expression on the black cat's face, "unlike you my physical features aren't cloaked by any disguise spell, only my spirituality is hidden."

Serena blinked several times before she realized that what Luna said made sense, Luna remained in her cat form all the time and so she had to remain recognizable by everyone. "Luna, you can't hide here forever," she took the brooch from Luna and stuffed it in her pocket, "and Mom is already commenting about your behavior," she tried to sound determine, "sooner or later you are going to get Molly curious about you," then an idea hit her, "in fact I think she already is."

Luna sighed and bowed her head in defeat, "All right, Serenity," she allowed the blonde to pick her up.  
Not letting anything out the black cat was sort of proud of Serena. Whatever happened between dawn and dusk, there was a positive effect on the teenager's warrior spirit, which banished all the apprehensions Luna had after a night of watching her charge tossing and turning, a captive of her own demons.

Serena brought Luna out of the closet, holding the cat in the fold of her arms as she came to stand before the redhead, "Molly, this is Luna," the nice touch of sweetness to the blonde's voice, "Luna, this is Molly."

"Meow."

Molly stood there for a moment, smiling down at Luna, before one of her hands began to gently scratch the black cat's chin, "Nice to meet you, Luna." At hearing Luna purring at the caress Serena relaxed,  
"Would you please tell Sailor Moon how much I owe her for rescuing me," the purring stopped cold,  
"you being her helper and all."

A family of swallows could have made a home in Serena's mouth before she said, "Sailor Moon?"

"Yeah, Luna was with Sailor Moon, giving her advice and everything," she stopped scratching the cat's chin and put her finger against her right cheek, staring toward the ceiling and with an obvious fake wonder on her face, "and Sailor Moon knew my name and was very affectionate when comfort me and she even jumped the fence to get to your home just like you did." Serena just stared straight at Molly,  
so did Luna, the blonde unable to decide if she should tell the truth or lie through her teeth, but Molly once more took the lead, "Oh, Luna, tell Sailor Moon that I'll keep her secret," she tilted her head to one side and smiled wide, "I'm just glad to have her as my friend."

That did it. If this was Molly's strategy to get Serena to confess, it worked like a charm. It wasn't a direct confrontation, it wasn't a demand for answers or even a suggestion of acknowledgment. The blonde dropped onto the bed with a bounce, still holding Luna, and with her right hand stroking that black-haired back, she looked up at her friend, "Are you sure, Molly? Being my friend could get you killed or worse."

"I owe Sailor Moon my life."

"You don't owe me anything. It is my duty as given to me by God to protect all mankind from the forces of evil."

"But Sailor Moon can't do it alone with just Luna to help her."

"For now it is enough."

"Maybe Sailor V will help Sailor Moon?"

"According to Luna, Sailor V will help me."

"I would still like to help Sailor Moon in whatever capacity."

"If those I am fighting against discover you helping me, I might not be able to protect you."

"They might still come after me just because you rescue me or because I'm a girl."

"You notice how the murders of girls seem to be piling up?"

"Not hard to notice when your boyfriend worries about his parents getting the blame for not solving these murders."

"No way I can talk you into sitting on the sideline?"

"Nope, my mind is made up to help Sailor Moon."

"Sure?"

"Hell or High Water!"

Serena held out her right hand, "Welcome aboard."

Molly shook the hand and sat down on the bed next to the blonde, "So where do we start?"

During this whole time Luna was looking back and forth between the two teenagers, her amber eyes getting larger and larger, her purring dead despite Serena stroking her furry back. Then she heard her owner say, "Luna, tell her."

"Serenity, this isn't something you can involve noncombatants in," Luna bounced out of Serena's lap and turned to face the two teens, anger in her words, "only the Sailor Scouts have the heavenly power of God survive and succeed against the Fallen," her looks hard at Molly, "I'm sorry, Mary Baker, to sound harsh or ungrateful but what aid you could give Sailor Moon is, at best, minimum."

"I know, Luna," a sweet smile is on Molly's lips, "but isn't it true that evil only succeeds when good people do nothing."

Luna is taken aback by the redhead's response and she sat down, "True, but can you handle the passion of the Cross," her anger cooled, "and the grief it will bring to your loved ones?"

"I must, Luna," a sober expression on Molly's cute face, "I couldn't think of myself as a Christian unless I help Sailor Moon."

At seeing Serena take hold of Molly's right hand and squeeze it, Luna sighed, "Very well," the Spirit Guide hooped up on the bed, "Don't say I didn't warn you," She slipped between then and stood in the middle of the bed, "but don't say I didn't give you a fighting chance." With that the little animal did a back flip and at the apex a flash of light is seen with the pop sound added. Dropped at Luna's feet are three objects: a five-inch pink wand with the tip decorated by a red heart bounded by a crown of thorns, and what looked like two wristwatches each with a tiny screen plus an even smaller pad full of brightly colored buttons.

"Wow! Cool!" these were the words that came out of both girls as they scoop up the created items,  
"These watches look like they came from Dick Tracy!" Serena held one of the objects close to her face.

A clear-cut cough comes from Luna, "Well . . . like minds works . . . " clearly she seemed a little embarrassed by the comparison.

"Dick Tracy?" Molly looked at Serena and then Luna while holding the other watch and the wand,  
"You mean the Warren Betty-Madonna flick?"

"Pale imitation of the comic strip," Serena giggled when she turned over the wristwatch and saw the stylized cat face on the back as a trademark, "So the wristwatches are communication devices," her baby blues switch to the circular object her friend held, "but what about the wand?"

"As you surmised, Serenity, the wristwatches are communication devices but much more complex than the current ones available," Despite her early embarrassment Luna was pleased by Serena's quick deduction, although it being connected to comics and cartoons did bother her a bit, "but the wand is specifically meant for Molly."

"Oh?" Molly's emerald eyes lit up and she looked more carefully at the pink wand, "What does it do?"

"It's a disguise wand, Mary Baker," Luna shifted to lecture mode, "for a short period of time,  
approximately sixty minutes, Molly will be able to disguise herself as any humanoid being of the same mass," she began to clean one of her forepaws, "she will even have the abilities that goes with the guise but only temporary."

The green eyes of the redhead kept getting bigger and bigger as a certain black cat explained the wand she held in her hands, finally Molly said, "Someone pinch me."

Two fingers twitch but Serena stopped herself, "Why don't you try it out?"

"No!" Luna gave Serena a disapproving look, "Your parents or Sammy could walk in unexpected"  
both girls look disappointed so she added, "instead we will use a secured place where we can practice."

"Why not use one of the karaoke booths at the Crown?" suggested Molly with a renewed grin.

Serena quickly nodded, "They are soundproof and the ones at the Crown are large enough to have a party in," two sets of eyes lock on Luna, "What about it, Luna?"

Luna had a feeling that more than practicing was going to happen in the room but what else could the feline expect from teenagers, "all-right but I want to be there with you."

The two girls did high-fives but it was Molly who asked, "Now I'm an official member of this little conspiracy maybe you should tell me what I've gotten myself into."

Cat and owner nodded, which launched Serena into telling about what happened when she found Luna at the animal shelter and the blonde becoming the Instrument of Peace. With a few corrections from Luna, an hour passed before Serena finished the abridged version, "Any questions?"

During the hour long dialogue Molly pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from her overnight bag. "Well,  
I'm a little confused about how these sky kingdoms were each connected to the Sailor Scouts," she chewed on the black cap stuck on the end of the pen, "weren't the Sailor Scouts essentially archangels?"

"Correct, Mary Baker, the original Sailor Scouts were archangels given female guises by God," Luna becoming more alert, she hadn't expected such a question from the redhead and thought Serena compressed telling would be enough for the girl, "but by the time of the Silver Millennium things were much more complex in all ways politically and strategically."

"Huh?" Serena looked up from putting one of the wristwatches on.

"I think Luna means it became more than just a once in a lifetime battle of good versus evil," the movement of a pen over paper showed that Molly was writing.

"Very good, Mary Baker," Luna was warming up to Molly by the second.

"Teacher's Pet," Serena made a face, Molly sticks her tongue out and both end up giggling and leaning against each other's shoulders.

Luna rolled her eyes and thought for a second that lessons delivered by claws might work here, instead she stayed in lecture mode, "As Mary Baker has surmised the fact that the numbers of the Fallen had greatly expanded and the distance need to cover by the Sailor Scouts meant that each one of them had to be much more powerful and able to operate independently at the point of contact until reinforcements could reach them," a couple of times blank looks appeared on Serena's face so the black cat asked, "Do you understand?"

"Eh . . . I think I do, Luna," Molly sounded less than certain, "each of the sky kingdoms adopted a Sailor Scout?"

"That was a good guess, Mary Baker," Luna glanced over at Serena but the blonde seemed to more concern about what was being discuss than her friend was giving all the right answers, "in essence each of the sky kingdoms adopted an archangel into their royal family so that the divine power was passed down from one generation to the next," she rubbed one of her ears with a forepaw, "thus someone in each generation was a Sailor Scout."

"In what way being a part of a bunch of royal families helped the Sailor Scouts?" Serena held her wristwatch to her ear like she thought it was broken.

"The foundation of the Silver Millennium civilization was based on genetics, crystal technology and environmental science," Luna hooped off the bed and went over to her water bowl, "each one of them interlocking with the other to such an degree that if one of the three was removed the others would collapse."

"But why was the Instrument of Peace become Sailor Moon?" Serena pressed a button on her new wristwatch, "Why didn't it become Sailor Earth?"

"Originally that was the idea of the sky kingdoms but at the last moment God changed the plan," Luna drank from her bowl before adding, "he told the council that Earth already had a defender and that the Moon Kingdom would need one."

"Council? Defender?" Serena looked at the screen of her wristwatch when the device beeped.

"The Solar Council, each member representing the royal families of the sky kingdoms and the Earth Kingdom," Luna knew they were starting to get off the subject but Serena asking questions were a good sign in her judgment, "and the male heir of the Earth Kingdom is designated with the title,  
Defender of the Faith."

"A male heir?" Stereo responses came from the two girls with Serena adding, "So we are going to get a hunk for our very own?"

"Really, girls," Luna was about to tell them to act their age but decided against it, "Anyway, each sky kingdom became responsible for the training and equipping of their Sailor Scout while guidance was supplied by the spirit guides, like me, when necessary."

The tail end of Luna's answer got Molly looking at her notepad, "How many spirit guides are there?"

"In the Silver Millennium there were many spirit guides, some specializing in specific area while others gave general guidance," then a look of sadness touched her eyes, "but many have died in the battles against the Fallen and we are a loose organization, keeping mostly to ourselves until God calls upon us to help the Sailor Scouts."

Serena slipped off the bed and gathered Luna in her arms, "So Artemis is the only one you know of?"

"Yes," Luna nuzzled the gentle hand stroking her small head, "if only he wasn't such a lazy idiot," her tone becoming angry, "always breaking rules, taking the easy way out, ignoring the chain of command"  
her claws flexing.

"Owe!" Instantly Serena dropped Luna, "Hey! I'm not a pincushion," she glared at the cat.

"Sorry," Like any cat, Luna landed on her feet.

"Sounds like a difference in aptitude," Molly couldn't miss the way Luna's fur stood on end.

Serena didn't miss it either, "They sound like an old married couple," Serena whispered behind her hand into Molly's ear, which caused the redhead to giggle.

Both girls got an evil glare and a long pause from Luna, "Any other questions?"

Molly retrieved her yellow notepad, "You seem to hint that even in her non powered state Serena could detect the other unrevealed Sailor Scouts?"

"Yes," the question seemed to calm Luna down although her tone was still frosty, "due to the nature of Instrument of Peace, Serena is able to detect unshielded and some shielded divine or demonic powers."

Serena slowly nodded at Luna's explanation, "You mean if I suffer a strong attraction to someone I see or meet, they might be a Sailor Senshi or a Fallen?"

"They could be," Luna hooped onto the bed and begin to clean the tip of her tail, "there are also objects containing either divine or demonic energies as well, for example the wristwatches and the disguise wand."

"Let's test it out," Molly gathered up the wand, her wristwatch and waited for Serena to take off her own. Once done, the redhead quickly walked over to the closet and slipped inside, pulling it closed,  
"Ready!"

The teen looked at the cat, who nodded, before she let herself relax, her baby blues staring at the closet while her breath slipping through her parted lips. A slight intake of air in seconds show something happened.

"What do you see, Serenity?"

"It's . . . it's not wh . . . what I see . . . " the girl struggled to speak, "it's more what I feel . . . I . . . I don't see anything special . . . " her voice is soft, "but something in my head . . . its tells me . . . something special . . . inside . . . " her voice petered out and after a moment she could sense the divine objects moving closer and then something touched the middle of her forehead, which broke the spell and her eyes focused on Molly's face just a few inches from her face, "Whoa . . . too much heaven on my mind."

The redhead giggles as she lowered her right finger from her friend's brow, "Kind of left yourself defenseless."

"Doesn't usually suck me in like that," those baby blues of Serena's blinked several times.

"Most likely fatigue is making you more vulnerable to the multiple-layered reality it shows you,  
Serenity," Luna moved over to sit next to her charge.

"I'm a little curious, Luna," Molly sat on the other side of Serena, "since I'm here I can guess that the Fallen failed to destroy the Silver Millennium but what happened to those sky kingdoms," she smiled a little wider, "since I don't think the government could keep astronomers and scientists from blabbing."

"They are in ruins," a sad sigh came from Serena, "at least the Moon Kingdom is from what I saw."

"The Earth Kingdom was taken over by the Fallen," Luna sounding sadder than Serena, "a princess of the Earth royal family was corrupted by them and once her parents were assassinated, she became the queen and used her position to convince the people of her kingdom to support her in a war against the sky kingdoms."

"Their first target was the Moon Kingdom?" Molly offered a guess.

"Yes, Mary Baker, it was although its selection was due to the Earth Queen's ire for the Moon Kingdom's own queen, Celena," a disgusted look appeared on that furry face, "she had an unhealthy love for her brother, who was the Defender of the Faith, and when he sided with the sky kingdoms against her and started to live at the Moon Kingdom's court, she went off the deep end."

"A really twisted sister," Serena muttered under her breath before she getting up and made her way to her dresser, wanting to hide how much pain this was causing her. She knew of no one there nor did she have a personal stake but it didn't stop her from feeling sorrow, "So the Fallen are stopped but at the cost of the Moon Kingdom."

"But what happened to those other sky kingdoms and the Earth Kingdom?" A quick glance into her wall mirror showed to Serena that Molly was opening her suitcase while asking that question.

"How much do you know about the Moon?" the question caught both off-guard and they looked at Luna, which caused her to repeat, "Mary Baker, Serenity, how much do you know about the Moon?"

Molly and Serena looked at each other before Molly says, "Well, its too small to have an atmosphere,  
its gravity is much less than the Earth and it is mostly covered by craters."

"Also the United States went to it several times about thirty . . . forty years ago," Serena begun to change into her pj's, "something about a space race."

Luna nodded, "That is the Moon you both know," then her amber eyes get a faraway look in them, "but the Moon I knew was covered with pillars of manmade crystals with each having the girth and height of a redwood tree," Serena couldn't miss the pride she heard in that voice, "Those pillars absorbed the radiation raining down from the Sun and the black star-studded sky. Turning the Moon into habitable planet and they used their technology to beam that power to the Earth Kingdom and to the other sky kingdoms."

Molly pulled on her lime green pj's over her panty-clad body, "So when the Earth Kingdom attacked the Moon Kingdom it was like someone hitting a light bulb with a baseball bat."

Luna blinked at Molly's comparison but then nodded somberly, "Baseball bats of several megatons to be exact, Mary Baker, and despite the Moon Kingdom's defenses, the Earth Kingdom unleashed a battery of missiles that left the Moon looking as it does today, a cratered planet," her voice dropped to a whisper, "then the army of the Fallen came."

Without hesitation, even through Serena only had her pajama top on, she went over to Luna and tenderly pulled the black cat onto her lap as she sat on the bed. Her bare thighs could feel the spirit guide shivering she stroked her pet's satin fur, "It's alright, Luna, it happened long ago."

Luna curled up in the warmth of her owner bare lap, "I know but it still hurts, Serenity," she was on the verge of tears, "it was my first mission as a spirit guide and even with the Sailor Scouts augmented by the cosmic power of the planets and their training it ended in mutual destruction for the Silver Millennium,  
for the Sailor Scouts and for the Fallen."

"We'll do better this time around, Luna," Serena looked up at Molly, "Right?"

"Right," Molly smiled assuredly as she patted Luna's head, "All . . . "

The door to Serena's room opened and a head with a mop of brown hair looked in, "Hey, Serena,  
Mom wants to know if you and Molly want some ice . . . " a pillow stuffed the boy's mouth.

"Sammy!" Now Serena turned so Luna hid the blonde's nude bottom, "Knock first and ask if you can come in."

"Give me a break, Sis," Sammy ducked behind the door as another pillow sail out of the bedroom, "we took baths together."

"Not with Molly you have," a retort and a third pillow came sailing through the opening before the preteen closed it fast. The petite blonde glared at the door, she was sure her brother was getting even for the gag she pulled earlier.

Molly giggled, got up, "Let's join them, Serena," she picked up Luna from her friend's lap and headed for the door, "I think Luna would like some melted ice cream."

"Thank you, Mary Baker," Luna's tail swing back-and-forth, "so few appreciate the heavy burden a spirit guide carries."

"Oh, Luna," Molly paused as she about to open the door, "what about those people who triggered Serena?" She almost giggled again as Serena did a hoop-wiggle-twist dance to get her pj's bottom,  
"Shouldn't we check to see if any of them are Sailor Scouts? Maybe get them into the mix as soon as possible?"

"No, Mary Baker, they will answer God's calling," certainty in Luna's eyes, "when it is their time to . . .  
Oaf!"

"Ack!"

"Sorry!" A black cat and a redhead compressed between a door and a blonde.

Notes

1. I'm very sorry for how long it took for the second chapter of this series to come out. Most of the delay was caused by two factors, my co-author writer's block and the loss of my own mojo. December Lewis has left the series, making this series my baby only, but in the year before her decision she suffered from writer's block that left her unable to write more than six pages of chapter two. Besides the lose of time, the delay also caused me to lose my mojo, my inspiration, my deep connection, to the material created for the series. It took me several readings of the first chapter and the notes written by all three co-authors plus a lot of positive feedback from readers to get me reconnected with my mojo. I wasn't really sure I could pick up find my inspiration for this series but my friends and readers did help me. I really don't write for my own enjoyment. Mostly my writing needs someone to inspire me to do my best and December Lewis and her passion for the series really did that for me. With her leaving the series, I was a little afraid I lost my inspiration with her but with help from Amy and Fate, I found it again. 


	3. Chapter 3

Series Title: Moon Over Chicago

Created by December Lewis, Chivon Ruddock and Horosha

Written by December Lewis and Horosha

Disclaimer: "Sailor Moon" is the property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd. and Toei Animation Ltd. As such, I'm getting no compensation for writing this fiction other than my own enjoyment and to bring pleasure to the fans of this wonderful series.

If you have any comments, our e-mail addresses are:

http:/V_

I also want to thank December Lewis for deciding I'm good enough to work with her and create this series. I would also like to thank Amy and Fate Testarossa for inspiring me once more.

WARNING: Moon Over Chicago is a violent series with adult situations,  
slang and bad language. As such, this series is rated R and anyone under the age of fourteen should get parental approval before reading it.

Interlude

A tired groan and the rustle of papers came out of the soundproof room when its door was cracked open by a middle-aged lady in a conservative business suit. The study room in the library of Northwestern University was one of several places throughout the Greater Chicago Area reserved for the state study on public and private schools. Looking through the thick-panned window in the door, the woman can see a tired young man with ruffled black hair, his steely blue eyes staring at the screen of a laptop while leaning back in his chair. It is a chance look in the direction of the door that brings a smile on his face, "Oh, Doctor Shabon, you're up late?"

"Doctor, Darien?" The Asian woman with the petite body slips into the room, waiting for the door to close before she leans down and lightly kisses the young man's lips, "Why so official when we know each other on more intimate terms."

"Because the door was open, Rikomi," the young man returns the kiss with the same lightness, "and because I broke off our relationship."

"I know but I wish you hadn't," a disappointed sigh comes from the woman as she pulled over the other chair in the room, her raven hair sliding over her shoulders as she sat in the seat, "my marriage to Jehu had already failed thanks to our combined high intellect egos."

"Your daughter hates me, plus you and your husband are only separated,"  
Darian's voice is polite, "so it would do horrible damage to your career,  
if word got out about your relationship with a student at the university you're teaching at."

Rikomi sighed from hearing this old argument, "Ami would've gotten use to you, everyone knows my husband is now living in Arizona with a girl half his age, whose career is to make him happy," her black eyes show she has resigned herself to the situation, "and furthermore I could always return to being a pediatrician. With my accomplishments, any hospital in the world would want me on their staff, so there wouldn't be this teacher-student issue between us."

Darien turned his seat to face Rikomi, his eyes never leaving her eyes,  
"I saw Ami yesterday at her school, the rage in her eyes was so horrible, I'm sure she would've sent me to the coldest part of Hell if it was in her power." He saw the petite woman cringed, before he added, "She loves her mother and her father and anyone who gets in the way of her plans to reunite them is dead meat."

Rikomi sighed again, running her hand through her hair, "You would think the genius of my daughter would be enough to show her how futile those plans are," the long day starting to show in her voice, "the only reason I've not divorce Jehu is because it would complicate how we would raise her. The last thing I want is to put her through is a custody battle."

"Love doesn't take a backseat to anything," Darien smiled softly, "it was why I let you go, Rikomi. I refused to break the bond that is between you and Ami."

Rikomi's dark eyes look away from the young man and out at the view of the campus from the window, "Well, maybe Jehu can talk some sense into Ami when she goes to visit him during Thanksgiving." She paused for a moment when she saw the stitches along the bottom of his chin, "I hope my daughter wasn't responsible for that cut."

Darien blinked before he chuckled, showing a real smile to his ex-lover, "Oh,  
you mean this," he touched his chin with one finger, "although Ami might approve of this wound, it didn't come from her, it was a reward for getting myself mixed up in teenage love."

"Oh?" Rikomi's expression turned curious, "Did some boyfriend object to you being friendly with his girlfriend?"

"Nope," Darien leaned his chin against his pressed fingers, "just a girl with this strange hairstyle and angry blue eyes." When he noticed Rikomi was smiling and seemed to be waiting for more, he continued, "She was in the first class I gave out the questionnaire for the study," his smile touching his fingertips, "sitting next to Ami by the way, and looking very comfortable with her."

That statement from the young man increased Rikomi's interest big time,  
"A new friend?"

"I think so, but I don't know for sure. I don't even know her name until I pick up the questionnaire tomorrow," he glanced at the pile of papers from the two other schools he was handling, "but she was bad mouthing boys in general in front of Ami, so I decided to drop in my two cents."

"And the wound was the result?" Rikomi's tone showed she wasn't sure she wanted her daughter sitting next to someone who was violent in class.

"No," Darien slowly shook his head, "we traded barbs with her getting in the last shot by asking Ami what was the Japanese word for moron, which your daughter happily supplied."

"Happily? You mean Ami actually smiled?" A small smile appeared on the black-haired woman's lips. Ever since the separation, the mother hadn't seen her daughter's smile.

"That quick smile of your daughter has refined so well. And no, I got this cut later when I caught the blonde peeking around the corner of the back of the gym." His smiling turning lopsided, "you know where the students go to do their kissing while at school."

"Oh," Rikomi blushed and broke eye contact with her ex-lover, seeming to be remembering her own time in such a situation.

"Anyway, she put on an innocent act, accusing me of ruining her friend's first kiss," Darian leaned back as he put his hands on his knees, "and I told her that I wasn't buying it and even gave her permission to correct me, which she did with her lunch box."

Rikomi giggled softly, her right hand covered her ruby lips, "So sparks flew between you two."

"In a matter of speaking," Darien leaned back in his chair, "I will say she doesn't seem to be afraid of anyone," his eyes shift to the screen of his laptop, "if I may use your daughter as an example."

Rikomi nodded and stood up, "I better let you get back to your work." It looked like she was about to kiss Darien but added instead, "Would you like to go out for a late bite of food?"

A broken smile was a part of Darien's reply, "Too much of a temptation,  
Rikomi," a knowing look in those orbs of blue steel, "and I don't want Ami to be right about me being a home wrecker."

There is heartbreak on Rikomi's face, "I wish it could've been different,  
Darien."

"It could've been if you gotten a divorce in the first place but not now," the young man watched the lady open the door, "too much water over the bridge."

"I understand," she slipped out of the room, "Good night."

Only when Rikomi is gone does Darien's eyes fill with soulful pain. He stares at the laptop screen until he notices that the door didn't close.  
Looking back he saw a FTD man standing there with short-stem red rose in his hand. He was startled for a moment, which allowed delivery man to say, "Darien Mamoru Terra-Daniels?"

"Yes?"

"This is for you," the African-American with the afro hairdo held a single red rose out to Darien.

Darien looked at the rose and then at the man standing before him, "So it begins?"

The man nods somberly, his green eyes flash with approval when Darien stands and takes the thorny rose, "A sword to be carried, a cup to be drank from, and a book to be read."

A gasp comes from Darien at feeling the thorns of the stem prick his fingers and thumb, his eyes getting wide as he watches the rose blend and flow into the wounds. He can feel his soul awaken to a level he had never experienced before and a flood of knowledge washing into his consciousness that sent him to his knees. His hands clawed through his raven hair, "This...hurts!"

"A crown of thorns," the ebony man's voice sounded unearthly, "a heart blooming."

"Protect...who?" Darien fell onto his side and curls up in a ball, tears dropping to the floor as the pain grew more intense.

"Your soul already knows, my son," the sound of the door can be heard by Darien, "let its light guide you."

A click of the door closing can be heard, just in time to prevent anyone outside to hear Darien scream.

A note: The telephone in the lab at Northwestern University ringed and a middle-  
aged woman with dark red hair picked up the receiver, "Northwestern University Lab, Doctor Bellamonte's office. How may I help you?" She listened to the voice over the phone before adding, "I understand, sir, I will tell him immediately," another pause, "thank you, sir, he is very interested about the results it will produce as well," she licked her ruby red lips, "goodnight sir."

The tall woman left the small office to enter the main lab. It is a huge place, located in the basement of the school's science building and separated from the lab used by the students. The division not only is a means to protect the advance equipment from the students but to keep innocent eyes from seeing the experiments done here. The lady in the white lab coat seemed to know where the doctor is because it took her only a few minutes to find the man with the messy mane of white hair,  
standing next to another woman dressed in a lab coat, "Professor Bellamonte?"

"Yes, Professor Kali?" a slight French accent to his words. He turns his attention back to the technician, "You may go now, Miss Eugene."

"Yes, Professor Bellamonte," the technician glanced at the redhead, her green eyes blaze with emotion to match her orange hair before she left.  
The look the redhead gave in return was one of a greater being to a lesser being.

Once the technician was out the door, Kali joined the doctor, "That was President Peel on the telephone, Richard," her East Indian accent harmonized the way she spoke his name, "he wanted me to inform you that Operation Reawaken can commence as of now."

An evil smile appeared on the pale man's face, "That is good news,  
Kamilla," he used her first name while placing his right hand on her left shoulder, "it means we will bring about the end product of a experiment which has been planned for twelve thousand years."

There was a cold fish tone to the man's words but the squeeze of the hand on her shoulder and the passionate expression on his face melted Kamilla's insides, causing her to lean a little into his grip, "I'm just glad to be here to help you, Richard," she paused for a second before looking up, "but I'm worried about that the Masters are moving us too fast on this project," a serious look on her face, "this one appearance of Sailor Moon could be a deception set up by Sailor V to discover our plans."

A demonic chuckle came from Richard, "Done worry, Kamilla," he let go of her and began to walk further into the lab, the redhead following on his heels, "it is the nature of the beast which tells me that this is the real thing."

"Nature of the Beast?" the tall woman was taken aback by Richard's statement.

"The Sailor Scouts are predictable by their goody-goody nature, Kamilla,"  
professor Bellamonte stopped at a huge machine filling the back of the lab, his coat billowing out as he turned back to his assistant, "they know human civilization on Earth has reached a critical condition thanks to the Fallen, as well as mankind's own incompetency."

Kamilla nodded with her own contempt for humans showing in her gray eyes,  
"True, our own projections show human civilization will destroy the Earth and thus themselves within fifty years and they won't be able to stop it as long as we are here."

"A selfmade genocide," More chuckling coming from Richard as he turns back to the machine pushing a big red button. A deep gurgling sound from above draws the attention of both to the human-sized glass cylinder held over twenty feet from the floor by shining metal tubing and panels with pulsating lights. It wasn't hard to follow the tubing to the many smaller cylinders with liquids of various colors inside them. The redhead is so taken by the marvel of the machine that she is taken off-guard by white-  
haired man's next words, "Even if this is some plan thought up by the spirit guides it will give us a chance to test the prototype against Sailor V."

The causal way in which the man said those words ran delicious chills down Kamilla's spine, , "Is it good to test a prototype against the Sailor Scouts, Richard?" Her expression showed a great deal of worship for the professor, "since your daughter will be involved, shouldn't we refine the combat capabilities with computer simulations before live combat?"

Another loud laugh came out of Richard, "Don't be absurd, Kamilla, these Sailor Scout are not even close to the level of those we faced when we attacked the Moon Kingdom." His hands furiously typed in commands at the machine's control console, "Up until recently the cultures which dominated human civilization thought it was idiocy to train women for combat, believing females are too emotional to be any good beyond taking care of the home, working in the fields like animals and producing babies," the tone of his voice heavy with scorn, "as such our prototype should clean their clocks ," the professor paused his work to look up with adoration at the large cylinder, barely able to make out the small figure submerged in bubbling sea green liquid , "for after all you should fight fire with fire."

Kamilla's eyes glowed with awe at the professor's words but it didn't stop her from saying, "But your daughter," she moved a little closer to the man, "to risk her in open combat without knowing the full extent..."

Richard scoffed and turned to face the woman, "Oh I will know the combat abilities of the Sailor Scouts by the time the prototype is ready," he smiled wickedly, his face veiled most in shadows, the light of the computer monitors makin the lens of his glasses appear to glow "but why should you be so concerned about my daughter, Kamilla," her hand slipped under her lab coat and caressed her tummy through her white blouse,  
"after all, I can always make another daughter."

A gasp came from Kamilla and her legs shook with excitement, "Yes...  
Richard..."  
********

A cool late summer breeze came off of Lake Michigan, its breath cooling off the buildings, concrete and blacktop so only a fragment of the day's heat could be felt. It being so late in the evening, only a few people were still awake near in the old brownstone apartment buildings near the old port and none seemed to notice when two costumed figures landed on the roof of a neglected warehouse, one that would soon be demolished.  
The two had slid down a gold heart-shaped chain from one of the apartment building, over the heavily barb-wired fences and onto the flat tin roof.  
The two did make an interesting pair, a slim bodied blonde wearing a red-  
white-and-blue costume with a vague resemblance to the school uniforms worn by Japanese teenage girls, and a equally wiry white-haired young man wearing an white tuxedo with a black demono perched on his nose. The female wore a similar mask except hers was crimson lined with pink rhinestones.

"This looks like something out of an old movie serial," the young man frowned as he looked around the cracked and chipped roof.

"You sound positively boring Artemis," the blond teenager smirked as she skipped over to the warehouse's skylight and looked inside, "besides this is where our informer told us that firebug kept his goodies."

"I wouldn't call the Chicago chief of police an informer V-chan," the man in white knelt by the dust covered skylight, took out a roll of duck tape and tapped the window pane next to the latch, "after all he is helping us because of his friendship with that Scotland Yard inspector fan of yours."

"Police are just like men ," the costumed girl gave her companion a wink,  
"even the female ones."

Artemis grumbles at Sailor V's saucy statement while his right fist gives a quick blow to the middle of the taped glass, breaking it with very little noise, "You should be more considerate of people's feelings, V-  
chan."

"The bobbies only care about enforcing laws and their pints of warm beer ," her baby blues watch as her companion slowly removed the broken glass from the frame, "they forgot what those laws are suppose to do."

The eyes behind the black mask narrowed slightly , "If I remembered right I had to pledge my body to your lust," he reached inside and undid the latch, "to get you to wear that red mask."

"Just your human body, you hunk of spirit guide. especially since I'm not into furries."

"Have I've ever told you that you have a dirty mind for a Royal ," his white cape billowed with a sudden chilling breeze as he slipped in the open skylight and dropped down on a catwalk just a few feet below.

"Many times," her pleated skirt fluffed up as she landed next to him,  
"and I keep telling you that I'm the one with the rod up my pussy."

"The rod up your..." Immediately Artemis stopped from finishing his remark. His charge might have a garbage mouth but he didn't, "Never mind,  
let's just hurry up."

"Tallyho," A playful wide grin grows on Sailor V's face as she took the lead but Artemis used his better dexterity to get ahead by leaping to one of the hanging warehouse lights to another, his white cap billowing behind him and the lights swinging barely from his landings and takeoffs . From her angle the blonde superhero couldn't miss the frown upon his angelic face, "Why the sourpuss look?" The grace of the costumed girl's own young legs moving would have left many drooling, "Fur ball in your throat?"

"I feel like a corporal impersonating a five-star general," he landed next to the metal stairs leading down, waiting, "whenever I'm dressed like this."

Sailor V rolled her sapphire eyes as she joined her comrade , "I wish you would get over this thing you have for this guy," the two went down the stairs together, "It's sort of gay and just a little ghoulish to have feelings for someone who's been dead for... eh... well... forever."

Artemis gave Sailor V a flash of irritation with his masked face, "Prince Endymion was the greatest to hold the title of Defender of the Faith!" There was pride in his voice that Sailor V recognized whenever Artemis spoke of the prince,  
"It was only because of his deeds did the title survive the dim and shadows of the centuries until it was recreated by the Catholic Church and given to warriors who fought against the enemies of Christianity."

"A bloody bunch of Popist poppycock," the sound of high heels and hard shoes upon concrete announced the two reaching the ground floor, "Though I will say that white tux, top hat and mask makes you look like the cat's meow. " Artemis was about to retort when he got a snout full of what he was breathing in while they were coming down to ground zero, sneezing loud. Sailor V waved her hand as she looked at all the broken fifty-pound bags that were thrown about the place and the piles of white substance that covered the hard floor, commenting, "What's this?" She pressed her right fingers into the closest pile of dust-like substance taking a lick of her forefinger, "Flour?" Her blue eyes confuse, "Did someone plan to break the Guinness Book of Records for the biggest cake?"

"Maybe someone smug..." the guy in the white tux sneezed again, "smuggled cocaine in the bags," but then he frowned, "but there is something about..." followed by another explosion from his nose.

The blonde giggled as she took hold of her comrade left elbow, leading him toward the enclosed room located under the staircase, "We better get you inside the office before you air mail your nose back to London."

Once they entered the office, Artemis' sneezing did subside and he tied a handkerchief around his head, covering his nose and mouth, "I hope this helps."

"Hope so," the magical girl commented over her shoulder as she continued to scan the room, spotting discarded wafer boards, electrical lines and microchips. She also spotting a number of different gutted cell phones on the desk located in the back of the room, "It looks like we found our mad bomber."

"Eyolf James is a high class arsonist," Artemis' muffled words correct his partner as his eyes spot several large canisters, "who suddenly sets fire to two youth centers in Chicago in the last four days without warning or ransom demands."

"Aye, I don't think his bread and circus slumlords would pay for something like... that..." Her eyebrows go up at the sight of the yellow box on a banged up table surrounded by rusty metal chairs, "Baking soda?"

Artemis' head snapped over to look at the table and his blue eyes go wide at spotting the white tin next to the yellow box, "Run!"

"What?"

The man in white doesn't waste time explaining, he grabbed Sailor V by the waist and in a quick stride his hand is about to close on the door handle when he spotted the wires running from it, "Oh-oh."

"My turn!" Sailor V raised her right hand with her palm up, "Sailor V Love Me Chain!" From the hand a gold chain of heart-shaped links shot straight up, stabbing through the ceiling and erupting out of the roof to wrap around a railing near the skylight. Artemis wrapped his arms around the curvy blonde's body, his eyes scanning around the room as he tried to find any kind of timer or what could be a bomb. "Hold on, Kitty!" There is jerk causing him to squeeze his teammate tighter and the glittering metal lifted the two out of the room as the insides explode into an inferno but what came next was even more unexpected; the air of the warehouse exploded as well.

A whoop of sheer pleasure came from Sailor V as she and Artemis smashed through what is left of the skylight as a flash of light and air blasting carried the two several feet above the building. Quickly the man in white gathered the blonde in his arms and with twists and rolls of his body he successfully landed on another warehouse without incident .

"That was so cool!" Sailor V grinned wide, jumping out of Artemis' arms,  
"Can we do it again?"

Artemis groaned and sat down hard on a vent, lifting his top hat off his head as he pulled the handkerchief from her face to use it to dried his brow, "You are..." then her sneezed, looked confused by it until he noticed the change in color of his partner's uniform, "V, you're covered in flour."

The red-white-and-blue heroine blinked before she looked at herself,  
making a face, "Eww..." she takes out her crescent compact and popped the lid, scowling at her partner when he chuckled before sneezing again,  
"Listen here, Little Boy White," she expression darkened at every inch of head being white, "I want my fans to see me at my best," then she smirked, "besides you're probably covered in it too."

"Tell..." sneeze "me..." sneeze, "about..." sneeze, "it..."  
********

Raye was lying on her back at the foot of the altar in the church. The white cloth of the bridal gown she wore glowed thanks to the bright moonlight coming through the pentagram window over the main entrance.  
She felt at peace, relaxed, but that didn't mean she wasn't curious about why she rested on the stone steps , especially when her dark eyes watched as the main doors creak open and the soft light defined a figure standing just outside the archway. With footfalls reaching her ears, her gaze followed the figure coming toward her. She wondered why she didn't stand to meet this person but for some reason her body wouldn't move. Instead she noted the richness of the black tuxedo, walking cane in the left hand and the dignified motion of the tall body surrounded by a billowing cap although she felt no wind. This produced an impression to her of this being a man, who stopped a few feet from her, despite her inability to see most of his face due to a black mask he wore.

He stood for several minutes, staring at her and, no words of greeting,  
no sound within the church, just the moonlight filling the air around them. Then he raised his right hand and she could see a beautiful red rose held delicately in the hand. Her heart skipped a beat, the feeling of the flower as an offering, the expression upon his lips gentle. Again she wished she could stand to accept the gift, to blush and give some words of thanks, yet her body wouldn't do either.

Suddenly there was motion from the red rose. Was it dew trickling down?  
Was it a ladybug creeping out? No. It was the petals themselves, before her eyes the velvety leaves began to fickle and weave upon the thorny stem. The awe of the sight was quickly replaced with concern as she saw the man lift the fire flower to his face, his lips look ready to kiss it.  
She wanted to shout at him, to tell him not to, to break whatever enchantment that held both of them, but no matter how strong her compassion, she couldn't form a single word. She was sure her eyes were wide with horror, ready to see a face scarred, yet at the last moment,  
his hand stopped. He held the tiny flames less than an inch from his face, her dark eyes saw his mouth opening through the transparent blaze and in the dead silence she heard him breathe out.

In an instant Raye's vision was awash in orangey-red cone of fire,  
everything she saw before had disappeared to be replaced by the conflagration, its roar of primal hunger came to her ears and its flesh eating heat made her dark hair dance under her veil. She waited to be consumed, wondering how long the agony would last before she was incinerated, but it wasn't to be. Instead she felt her body lifted from the gray stone, the hot wind sending her hair billowing but what shocked her to her very soul was the roaring red tongues were doing. No longer did she wear her virgin bridal gown, instead from neck to ankles she was draped in elemental flowers of volcanic creation, the petals in constant motion, the living energy crackling in a thousand voices, yet she was left unharmed. Out of the firestorm she burst out, her body still horizontal, fiery petals stroking over her body and cloaking her modesty.  
She wanted a moment to absorb what all this meant, yet she didn't have the time for what she descending upon her took her breath away.

The church was gone but the moon was still there, full, bright and filling most of the heavens above her, and in-between there was another,  
an angel of ice. Clouds of white fog swirled tight around the divine figure, giving glimpses of a feminine body, her long blue hair dazzled with the structure of ice icicles, her face as white as snow, her eyes of icy oblivion and her lips the color of a mountain lake. Raye felt her heartbeats within her chest as the distance shrank between them, the ice angel descending while flame-cloaked girl ascending, her eyes becoming more fix upon what was held in the supple right hand of the angel: a silvery short spear.

There was only a few inches between Raye and the angel when they stopped moving, the divine female hovering above the floating fiery girl. The raven-haired girl looked up, not sure what was going to happening, the expression she saw above her showed no emotion, no anger, no love, no fear, no joy. The angel's pale face was pure cool when she pulled back her right arm back, raising the short spear above her ice-sculptured hair and brought it down, plunging the spearhead into Raye's forehead. There was pain of skin pierced the blood of flesh punctured and the sound of bone fractured. The arctic freeze of the invading metal in her brain spread throughout her arching body and a scream ruptured from her wide mouth, but it wasn't agony she heard, it was rapture.

Raye awoke from her dream, almost rolling out of her bed with only her right hand grabbing the bedpost to stop her fall, her eyes stinging with cold sweat as she pulled herself to sitting position, "Lo que siembres cosecharas ..."

A gentle knock came from her door, "Are you alright, granddaughter?"

"I'm fine, granddad," The raven-haired girl struggled to get a handle on the emotions raging inside of her.

The door opened a crack, "May I come in?" the Irish lithe of the old voice showed Patrick Deiria noticed her distress.

"Please," Raye turned on the lamp next to her bed, thinking the comfort from her only relative in this city would help her.

Raye's lip twitched in amusement at the sight of her fifty-something elder coming in wearing the threadbare housecoat he brought in Dublin,  
the mix once bright orange and Kelly green having faded. He sat down next to her and his leathery right hand taking her clasped hands, "Another dream?" She looked guilty at him and he chuckled, "It's alright, lass, I don't mind being wakened," he leaned over and kissed her forehead,  
"although they do seem to becoming pretty lively."

A tint to her cheeks showed the result of her grandfather's words, "I know..." she hesitated for a moment before adding, "they are becoming stronger... becoming true," she glanced down, having trouble looking into his Irish gray eyes, "but I can't tell you why... it... it involves the confessional."

Bushy eyebrows go up to silvered red hair, "Aye... I see someone else besides Alithea knows our little secret," his affection showed when he squeezed her hands.

Raye smiled and she paused for a moment before asking, "Granddad, is it normal for dreams... prophetic visions... to be erotic?" Rayed quietly,  
her cheeks rosy once more.

Patrick reached up to rub his chin, "Well, since I never had dreams or visions like yours, lass, I can't say yay or nay," his voice thoughtful,  
"but my own research has shown visions operate on the receiver's emotional core," his hand dropping to his lap, "and you have always been a passionate lass so I don't see why a little honey wouldn't part from your hive."

"Father!" Raye's cheeks burning bright as she used her elder's title,  
which she did whenever her anger was raising. In some way, the old man thought she did it as a way to channel her temper away from him and toward the person she hated and blamed for every bad thing that happened in her life, her father.

"Oh, you mean you didn't notice the musk?" Patrick decided to defuse his granddaughter's anger.

"Musk?"

"Aye, women sense of smell isn't as sharp as a man's" he used a matter-  
of-fact tone, "but I would think the wetness would give it away."

"Wet..." her eyes go wide and her right hand slipped out of her grandfather's hold, "I..." the hand touched the crotch of her pajama bottom, "I think I better take a shower and a change of clothes."

"I think so too," he watched his grandchild get up, grab a clean set of night-ware from her dresser and rush out the room, "See you in the morning, Raye." The old Irish Priest stood, his knees popping, "I thought it might be something like that," he murmured to himself as he walked toward the door, "I haven't heard a girl squeal like that since the first time me and my departed wife made whoopee."  
********

Chapter Three: Defender of the Faith Unfurled

First Period: Room 222 Japanese Language Class, Juuban High School

Molly, Serena and Luna had stayed up for several hours after returning to their room following the ice cream desserts with their parents and Sammy.  
They planned out what they were going to do the next day, Luna making sure the two teenagers worked out the details in their heads, but at the same time they were able to get a few more concessions out of the spirit.  
It took the combined effort of the redhead and the black cat to get the odango blonde on her feet when her alarm clock went off the next morning.  
Since Molly was being kept from school by doctor's orders, she finished up on the questionnaire given to them byheir science teacher while waiting for her friend to get out of the bath, also checking to make sure Serena had filled her copy out. Thanks to the early morning help, Serena got out of the house on time without having to rush through her breakfast, although she did find her nose itched a little at having a fresh split and bandages applied to it. Her parents made it abundantly clear to their daughter that she was still going to their family doctor after school even though she showed no outward appearance of a broken nose or a concussion. The extra time also gave Serena a chance to pick out her clothes, dressing in a butter yellow blouse, knee-length teal green skirt held to her midriff by cross-crossed straps decorated with white bunnies and finished off with butter yellow socks and white sneakers. At the entrance of the school she met Lita and they chatted for a moment, the petite girl noticed her tall friend was checking her over before they parted for their first period classes.

Serena had just sat down at her desk when she spotted Ami entering the classroom, looked directly at her and came over, "Ohayo, Odango-kun," her tone had that self-confident ring Serena had come to expect from the Goth girl.

"Ohayo, Idzumi-kun ," she notices her pale friend was dressed in full-  
length purple leather coat, with three top buttons undone to show the top part of ruffled cyan blouse while her feet and lower calves were encased in light leather boots of the same color, "I wanted to thank you again for your help yesterday."

Ami's head bowed slightly but instead of acknowledging the compliment,  
she asked, "Do you know how to play chess?"

"Chess?" the odango blonde is caught by surprise, "Ano... hai... I learned chess in India."

The slight move of her thin eyebrows show the answer did surprise Ami,  
"Then would you like to join the Chess Club?"

Serena was both surprised and delighted by the offer, "Hai!"

Ami's dark eyes flash, which the petite girl was starting to recognize was the only yield to emotion the pale girl would allow herself , "Good,  
the club meets during lunch time." The Goth girl watched the odango blonde blink several times before she asked, "Commitment problems?"

"I planned to eat lunch with Lita... Lita-chan..." she remembered to add the honorfic to the name.

"No problem," Ami's voice remained calm, "she can join too."

Serena wasn't sure, the emotions in Ami's bottomless eyes looked different but she couldn't put a name to it. In the two days she has been around Ami and the reactions from Molly and Melvin, it seemed to suggest to her of someone who carefully planned things out with contingency plans on top of contingency plans, "Alright, Lita-chan is going to meet me at my locker so I'll fly it by her before I give my final decision."

Another thing Serena noticed was how Ami kept her neck covered all the time, this time with a ruffled neckerchief of the same color of her blouse, but before she would ask about it, the pale girl caught the odango blonde off-guard, "So ka, Odango-kun wa te o kakete, ran o sodatete imasu ne?" With that the teen headed for her seat.

Serena watched Ami go to her desk before the petite blonde grabbed her Japanese-American dictionary, "Damn! Leave it to Idzumi-kun to wrap a clue in a mystery." When Mr. Takei entered the classroom, he was both surprised and pleased to see Serena's bandaged nose press to her opened dictionary, looking at it and at a pad of paper while she wrote.

Third Period: Room 322, Biology Class

Serena had picked The Hobbit from the list of books her English teacher had given her yesterday and made a quick trip to the library to check out their copy. She hadn't read the book before although she knew about it and watched the animated version of it, liking the music created for it.  
Once she reached her biology class, she gave Ami a puzzled look as she came up to sit next to her classmate. She was still having trouble figuring out what Ami meant with those last words before the first period class started, and the look of superiority the pale girl returned to the odango blonde showed she knew it. Serena had worked out what the Nihongo word meant but she was still having trouble with the meaning. She knew the word, hands, was probably an idiom but for the life of her she didn't know what Ami meant by orchids .

"Hey, Serena."

"Oh, Melvin," Serena looked up at the boy with his bottle-bottom glasses.

"How is Molly doing?" Serena closed her dictionary at Melvin's question.

"She's doing well, Melvin," she noticed the bulge of the cellphone in his skirt pocket, "although I would think you already knew that."

Melvin looked sheepish, "Well, you know, Molly," he had his laptop up and running , "she never wants people to worry about her."

Serena smiles a little wider, "Don't worry, Molly ate almost as much as I did for breakfast." Then she noticed Melvin had the questionnaire out,  
"Oh, I better get mine and Molly's out so I don't forget to turn them in."

The bell ringed and Andrew's voice drew Serena's attention, "Please take out the questionnaire and..." her baby blues spotting Darien sitting next to the standing science teacher, "Serena, would you please gather them and bring them to my desk?"

"Okay, Andy!" Serena bounces to her feet with hers and Molly's questionnaires in her hand. She went to each student, smiling and taking the stapled papers from them before she returns to Andrew, the ruffle sound of the neatly shuffled papers being placed on the teacher's hardwood desk, "Here you go, Teach."

"Thank you, Serena, but please call me Andrew when you..." from the corner of her eye Serena's train-of-thought is derailed by the glare coming from Darien, losing the rest of her teacher's words. She returned the expression with spades, her eyes almost glowing with glee at the sight of the bandage on the man's chin, at least until her teacher coughed. She blinked at the break of concentration, hearing from Andrew,  
"Darien, from the looks you and Miss Guerisser are giving each other and the bandages on both faces, do I assume you two duked it out somewhere?"

Serena spotted raven-haired young man's jaw tighten at the almost bullseye by his friend, "I was taught never to hit a girl," Darien scolded at the odango blonde, "although I might make an exception."

"You asked for it, mister," a shark's grin on Serena's lips, "you even pointed at where I should hit you," then her baby blues spot what Darien is wearing, "and why the tux? You going to some fancy dance ball?" The tuxedo the young man wore wasn't from some rent-a-tux either, the blonde could tell from the lack of diminished color due to constant washing. The midnight black, the glitter of silver buttons on the double breasted vest and the polished perfection of his shoes spoke of it being custom made.

"You could say that," Serena frowned at the vague answer from the man in black, but before she could fire back a smart ass answer, Andrew motioned her to go back to her seat. With a parting stare she turned on her heel and went back to her seat. Once more she noticed the nasty look on Ami's face at the exchange of words between the trio before it disappeared behind that gothic mask. This was starting to get her blonde radar going big time but she just wasn't sure how to go about to find out if there was a history between the two.

Lunch Period

Serena was surprised to find Lita already waiting at the blonde's locker,  
"That was fast Lita," she bit her lower lip before saying, "Mind if we do something besides eating?"

Lita's green eyes flash with curiosity, "Depends on what it is, GF," she grinned, "although I do have to tell you that despite where I live, I'm still a virgin."

Eyes go wide, ears perk up and a few of the surrounding students half-  
turn, "Whoa, too much information!" Serena blushed, pulling out her lunch and shutting her locker, "Why I'm asking is because Ami invited me to come to the school's chess club and they meet during lunch and I wanted to see if you might like to go too."

"Well... I could seduce you with my chicken pot pie and chilled orange sherbet to make you forget about anything so anal as chess," Lita almost giggled at the drooling look coming from Serena at the mention of food,  
"but I'll relent and go with you.

My parents wanted me to play chess but I couldn't stand just sitting around, moving pieces on the board and hitting a clock," Lita fell in-  
step with her blonde friend. When the ebony teen spotted Serena's nervous look, she asked, "What does chess mean to you?"

"A way out of poverty," Serena answered simply as she spotted Ami standing by the door of the Mathematics Class.

"Oh... How?" This time Lita sounded very interested.

"I don't know about here in the United States, but in the big world chess can get you out of a whole lot of horror," Serena's tone showed she was perked up by Lita's change of attitude, "boys and girls can write their own tickets by becoming masters at chess."

"No jive ?" Lita's reddish eyebrows lift.

"May a lightning bolt make me twin," Serena grinned up as they joined Ami, who's owlish expression showed she heard the last part of the conversation, "you should see five-year-olds playing with sixty-year-  
olds."

"Hey, Ami," Lita's attention switched to the Goth girl, "is Serena right about chess being a big game outside the US?"

Ami's expression didn't change but Serena noticed a sparkle in those dark eyes that never left the odango blonde's face, "The current retired grand master, Gary Kasparov, is a major political force in Russia as well as very wealth, including his own commercially successful computer chess game." Then she looked up at the redhead, "are you thinking of joining the club, Lita?"

"Now I know you're jiving me, Ami," Lita held up her lunch box, "but are there any rules where I can't watch you and Serena play while I'm eating?"

A rumble came from Serena's tummy as a plea and Ami's tiny smile curled her black-coated lips before nodding, "No rule against watching and eating," she turned and led the two into the room.

The first thing Serena noticed, besides the numerous chess sets placed on bunched up desks, was the fact there was only three girls in the room,  
her, Lita and Ami. Her ears pick up a mumble from Lita, "Now why do I feel suddenly naked?"

"We're ready for you, Shabon," the arrogance in those words drew Serena's baby blues to three guys up front where six desks were pushed together and three chess sets put together, "just remember the bet you..." the one speaking, the middle one with the pierced left eyebrow, then looked at Lita and then Serena, "Oh, I see you brought a couple of small brains as witnesses."

"Small brains?" Serena blinked and then blinked again when she heard Lita's growl, "What's this small brain stuff?"

"I haven't seen this fox here before," the one on the left commented, the waving one of his hands in front of his face showed off his multiple gold rings, "but her uniform suggests she's from Saint Mary's School for Snobbish Bitches."

"Eh?" Serena hadn't really looked that closely at Lita's clothes, the black blazer worn over a plain white blouse and black shirt going down to her knees along with white ankle socks and black shoes. The blonde even missed the ripped threads where once a school emblem would have been,  
"Does he mean Raye's school, Lita?"

"Another reason I don't like chess," Lita's green eyes burned bright in her ebony face, "full of Richie Riches who don't know about things like saving every penny and nickel or not throwing away perfectly good clothes."

"I'd bet the one with the wooden nose could be a cutie if she dump the crazy hair," guy with the gold braces in his mouth commented from where he stood on the right. His blue eyes shifted from Serena to Ami, "Is this your attempt to make your own clic in the club, Ami?"

"Well, it would take two small brains to equal one big brain," the one in the middle spoke again, his brown eyes show nothing but contempt for the girls, "but on the other hand we could use more members just so we have backups for tournaments."

It didn't take any more comments for Serena to figure out what small brains and other rude words meant, "Lita, I think we should find another place to eat our lunches."

"I'm ahead of you, GF," but instead of moving backward, Lita had edged forward to protective position just in front of Serena.

"Furthermore I am resigning from membership with the club," Ami clasped her hands to her stomach, "I recently found the climate here eroding to my chess skills," the words were delivered so smoothly that Serena momentary surprise was replaced with suspicion.

"Hey, one fucking minute," the boy with the rings made a grab for one of Ami's arms, "we had a be-" he stopped when Lita grabbed the guy's outreached hand by the wrist, "Fucking let go of me you nig-" he let out a gasp of pain when Lita's hand tightened.

"What was that, white bread?" Lita gave another squeeze which produced another gasp of pain and a fury of curse words from the boy. Serena watched the ebony teen scan the other two, making sure they weren't going to butt in before she opened her hand, "All bets are off. Clear?"

"Crystal..." the boy with the injured wrist whispered out, holding it with his other hand, "but you three are asked for a whole lot of trouble," his pain laced eyes lock on Ami's calm expression, "Get out of here, freak."

Ami turned on her heel and headed for the door with Serena next and Lita's covering the rear. This was totally unexpected by Serena but there was something about Ami's expression that got the blonde thinking and wondering if this was all planned out by the Goth. She drifted back just a little, whispering to Lita, "Did Ami know ahead of time that we were eating lunch together?"

"Yeah," Lita showed a thoughtful expression to Serena, "you thinking what I'm thinking."

"Probably," Once out in the hallway, Serena spoke up, "Now what, Ami. You going to set up your own chess club?"

"Can't," Ami stopped and waited for the two to reach her, "the school only allows one chess club."

"We could set up another gaming club," Lita nodded her head toward the staircase leading to the roof, "I'm willing to join despite not liking board games."

"Yeah... a different gaming club," Serena chewed the inner side of her lower lip, wondering if the rooftop might still stink of what she did yesterday, but she headed in that direction, "a girls only club?"

"Won't the vice-principal get on our ass about that?" Lita pointed out as the three started going up the stairs, "Unconstitutional and all that."

"The chess club can be used as an example of abrasive male environment where teenage girls can't have good clean fun," Ami followed the other two, "and we could select a game very few actually play but can be easily taught."

Silence followed for the rest of the journey before they reached the stairs, "What about Go?" Serena asked with a billion dollar smile on her face.

"Go?" Lita echoed as she opened the roof door, "Never heard of it?"

"You wouldn't, Lita, Go is highly competitive board game in China and Japan," a touch of a frown at the corners of Ami's lips at the brightness of the September day upon the roof, "but outside of those countries only a few play at a non-professional level, although its popularity has grown recently."

"I learned to play Go when my family was in the Tibet and from what my teammates told me," Serena noticed Ami made a beeline for one of the umbrella-covered tables, "Go has existed as long as chess but because of China's purposeful isolation, it didn't spread."

"It reached Japan when Asian pirates established homes on those islands,"  
Ami sat down at the table with Lita and Serena joining her, the redhead slowly nodding her head, "since then Go hasn't made any inroads because of the popularity of chess and Western board games, plus the culture Go represents, China and Japan, hasn't been impressive until the last thirty years."

"Sounds interesting," Lita was about to ask how easy it was to learn how to play Go when she got a peek at Ami's lunch box., "That's a lot of sandwiches!"

"I like sandwiches," Ami calmly commented, her lunch box a simple blue workingman lunch bucket, "I fix them in the morning and snack on them for the rest of the day."

"Don't you eat with your mother, Ami?" Serena asked as she pulled out her red apple, using a small knife to cut it in thirds.

"My mother works most nights," Ami's expression showing a hint of pride,  
"and when she isn't working, she is doing volunteer work at the free clinic."

Serena smiled at how those good vibrations from Ami seemed to be spreading to Lita, "So, Go uses a two-colored checkerboard with two sets of colored stones, black and white," she rides those feelings with her description, "and unlike chess pieces, the stones have the same abilities so the objection of the game is to take and control territory by placing the stones on the lines of the boards in a pattern," she gave Lita and Ami a piece of apple, "black is given three points because white goes first and there are four key points on the board where you can build your pattern from."

Lita kept glancing at either Serena or Ami as the two took turns explaining Go, "It sounds more complicated than chess," she smiled a little as she pulled out plastic containers and opened them, "and more interesting."

"It's actually very easy to learn and like chess, timers are used in tournaments," Serena noticed Ami pulled out a container of grape juice while the pale girl spoke, "but unlike chess there are various strategies you can use to capture your opponents stones if he or she isn't careful,  
although it could be a trap by your opponent to distract you from his or her goal."

"True," Serena cut her sandwich in thirds, "skill levels is more determined by strategy and concentration than by execution of a offensive pattern known by all," Ami noticed what Lita and Serena are doing with their food, dividing it into thirds and giving parts to the others to each, getting her to follow suit and share her food with the others, "so except for the four points, the combat between black and white can be different from board to board."

"Combat" Lita's eyebrows go up, "I know chess is like a rumble but so is Go?"

"Yes, Go is based on Chinese strategy and tactics," Ami waited for the others to be ready before she picked up a piece of food and took a bite,  
her owlish eyes blinking and then the corners of her lips perk, "so think of the stones as fortresses being built upon territory claimed by opposing rulers, who are trying to keep the territory they have taken but at the same time they each are trying to reduce the control of the other."

Lita ate but Serena could tell by the way her friend was leaning forward in her seat that she was hooked on the idea of the club, "Okay you got me, but who is going to be president?" her gaze shifted between Ami and Serena

"I'm unranked," Serena sighed before looking at Ami, "How about you,  
Ami?"

"I'm ranked third in the United States," the jaws of the other girls dropped from hearing this, "and I prefer Go to chess, where I'm ranked tenth in the United States, but there wasn't a Go club nor anyone interested in starting one."

"So who's going to be doing the legwork for this new club?" A mild look of dismiss on the ebony face, "I can't because I'm already involve in a lot of after school activities at my church and I'll probably be involved in the school's women basketball team once that gets going."

"I'm limited by my need to maintain a high level in my studies so I can achieve my goal of entering Oxford University," Ami added her two-cents between bites of food , "Thus I'm limited to giving minimum time for the club."

Serena grinned at Lita, "Don't worry, Lita, since this is my hair-blonde scheme," Lita grinned a little wider at the pun while the blonde gave Ami a Gracho Marx look, "same for you, Ami, I can get Molly to help me with designing, printing and handing out flyers." The odango blonde giggled at her own humor before she paused for a moment to think, "Where and when should we have the first meeting of the Go Club?" Then she noticed Lita looking over the roof edge, "Something catch your eye?"

"Sorry, GF," Lita grinned embarrassed at Serena, "I thought I saw Raye down there?"

"Oh..." it was Serena's turn to look over the roof edge, "Where?"

"There," Lita pointed with a sandwich wedge, "by the fountain."

Serena looked at the fountain in the square and it only took her a moment to spot a raven-haired girl dressed the same way as Lita, it also took her a second to note something else, "It looks like Raye is looking for someone."

"Indeed," Ami commented as she joined the two lookers. Raye's head was turning left and right as she walked clockwise around the fountain.

"Shit!" Lita halfway got out of her seat as she dropped the sandwich from her hand, "she doesn't see them coming."

"Uh... what..." then Serena saw what Lita spotted, the three boys from the chess club, heading in a sideways path toward Raye, "why are they going after her?" Not getting a reply, the petite blonde glanced in Lita's direction and then locked in that direction when she found Lita not there. She did see Ami pointing behind her and pointing to the roof door and seeing Lita dart in.

"Wait for me!" Serena took off after Lita, already hearing the thunder of feet on stairs. Snowballs chance in Hell, Serena knew her chance of catching up with Lita matched the old saying, especially at the sight of those ebony legs taking the steps three at a time, " Lita! Don't break your neck!"

Despite Lita's recklessness, Serena did close the gap between them on the stairs, probably all those times she played tag with her little brother over fallen trees and crumbling rocky paths, but when the redhead hit the ground floor first, it was like watching someone do a one-minute-mile.  
Serena didn't have much choice, she followed her friend down the hallway,  
breaking the rules of no running in the halls and praying the hall monitor wouldn't catch her. She lost sight of the crimson ponytail when the tall teen crashed through the doors , the petite blonde going through the same doors two minutes later.

Serena slowed as she came out into the daylight as her baby blues adjust before she caught sight of Lita halfway across the school square, but she caught sight of the three boys around Raye, the three towering over the raven-haired girl, who frowned at them. Raye's frown turned into surprise and a shout when the guy, the one who suffered at Lita's hands, shoved her backward at the shoulders hard enough to send her stumbling backwards, her arms wind-milling. So close yet so far, she could even see Lita slowing, knowing the redhead couldn't save their friend from a watery doom. This focus, this narrowing of vision by Serena stopped her from seeing anyone else so she was startled in a good way when the glittering, bubbling background behind Raye was replaced by darkness, the teenager impacting against a tall figure, two strong arms, gloved hands,  
enclosing around her. A blooming smile appeared on Serena face only to turn into a scowl at recognizing Raye's savor, Darien Terra-Shields.

Now confronted by a college student in front of them and noticing Lita had renewed her charge, the three boys shattered in different directions.  
It wasn't hard for Serena to see Raye and Darien exchange words. She spotted the grateful expression given by the nun-in-training, which was rewarded by a modest smile by the young man. Serena even noticed how reluctant Raye was to leave the protection of her rescuer's embrace. A sour look was upon Serena's face by the time she reached her friends,  
even with Darien already leaving, "Are you alright, Raye?"

"Yes..." Raye's cheeks were rosy and coupled with her gaze having trouble leaving the back of the retreating Darien, she gave both Lita and Serena an inquiring expression, "What just happened? Those three boys seem pretty angry at me after they asked me if I was Lita's friend and I replied yes."

"I'm sorry, Raye," Lita sighed as her hands carefully held Raye's hands,  
giving them a gentle squeeze, "Those boys slammed you because of me."I sort of helped one of Serena's friends against them."

"I see," Raye smiled, squeezing Lita's hand in return, "then it was a worthy cause."

"As for the guy who saved you, well, I would just forget about him,"  
Serena bitched, "the guy's a real creep."

"But Mr. Terra-Shields saved me," Raye blinked several times at Serena's harsh words.

"Even a bandit can act like a white knight," Serena blistered out, "if he thinks he can get something out of it."

"Well, you are a hot chick in that uniform, girl," Lita's teasing sounded like she was trying to take the edge off of Serena's own tone.

Raye blushed at Lita's compliment but she gave Serena a puzzled look, "He didn't seem the nasty sort when he spoke in front of our science class about the university project."

"Well..." Serena didn't really want to tell the nun-in-training what she did to Darien, but her glancing gaze looking for comeback spotted her hook, "if you don't believe me, just ask my friend, Ami. I don't know why but she seems to think of him as something on the level of cat dodo."

"Oh?" Raye turned to follow Serena's line-of-sight. Serena began to raise her hand to wave at Ami but never finished. First came the gasp followed by the odango blonde staggering under the weight of the raven-haired teenage, the nun-to-be swooning and clinging to Serena's arms, those fingers digging into the balls of her shoulders and Raye's warm breath filling the petite blonde's ear, "Behold the pale messenger... her body shrouded by wings of ice."

Sixth period (room 124 Algebra class)

The incidents of lunch period left Serena's head in jumble of thoughts and emotions and she found herself going through her Home Economics class on autopilot, doing the same thing for Physical Education. She had expected to see Mina during the last class but found the other blonde wasn't there. Lita was worried by what looked like Raye's near collapse and Ami's penetrating gaze showed she was curious too, but the nun-in-  
training smiled and waved off all concerns by saying she tripped. It was clear to Serena the raven-haired girl didn't want Lita to know about her visions, knowing their tall friend was intelligent enough to figure out who those images were about. So Serena smiled and nodded, accepting Raye's apology with grace. Now Serena was searching for the room where her Algebra class was located. Thanks to the first day assembly and her ill-timed encounter with a volleyball, her schedule of classes had been truncated; and, since there was a state law that physical education classes were required for all high school Freshmen and sophomores, Juuban High cancelled the only period where there were no gym classes scheduled,  
sixth period. Serena was already a little worried about the class; math wasn't her strongest subject, and trying to concentrate after rushing out of gym would most likely prove to be difficult.

Just as Serena settled into her desk, the teacher walked into the room.  
Tall, with red hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and flashing green eyes, the teacher looked approachable while still conveying that she was no nonsense.

"Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Algebra. Or welcome back, to a few of you. My name is Hattie Smith and I will be your teacher. You may address me as Ms. Smith. And, before anyone asks, yes there is a Revered Smith who is pastor of a church in the area. Yes, he is my ex-husband.  
And yes, I would prefer he was never mentioned in this class or in my presence."

As she was introducing herself, Ms. Smith had been walking around the room. As she reached a desk in the back right of the room, she pushed a set of boots, attached to a student's feet, off of a desk. "Mr. Heming. As you are repeat offender, you should know I do not tolerate feet propped up in my class. Or sleeping in class."

"As I was saying," the teacher continued. "This is Algebra. This is also a required course for graduation. Now, I am available for after school help and I can put you in touch with tutors, if you need them, BUT I expect you to work hard in this class as well."

Ms. Smith continued her monologue, walking around the classroom. Just as she was about to take role, she stopped at a desk to Serena's right.  
Sitting at the desk was a girl with chestnut brown hair who seemed to be a little distracted.

Clearing her throat, Ms Smith tapped on the student's desk. "Excuse me.  
Your name is?"

"Oh!" the girl turned to face the teacher, clearly startled. "Scarlett. Scarlett Arnold, Ms. Smith."

"I see," Ms Smith said. "Well, Miss Arnold, this is Algebra, not Chemistry and not a restroom. I'll have to ask you not to put on makeup in my class." As the student nodded and closed her mouth, a popping sound was heard. "And you can spit out your gum while you are at it," Ms. Smith added.

After Ms. Smith had finished dealing with Scarlett, she returned to the front of the room and began to take roll. All through class, however,  
Serena kept finding herself looking over at Scarlett. She wasn't sure of what to think of her classmate. She sported what seemed to be a great summer tan the girl was showing off in a tight, mid-rift baring blouse and mini skirt. She also seemed to working more at flirting with the guys in class than paying attention to the teacher. But, she had smiled in Serena's direction, and there was something about her.

But, before Serena had much time to think about her classmate, the bell indicating the end of school rang. Knowing that she had promised to meet Lita after school, she quickly gathered up her things and left. She made a mental note to ask Melvin about Scarlett tomorrow.

Location: Heaven's Crown Center

Serena was relieved once school was over and she was picked up by her mother in their SUV, with Molly along with them with a large bamboo-  
weaved bag next to her, a bag was large enough to carry a black cat with the weave loose enough to give both air and light. The lunchtime events had given her lots to think about and she wanted desperately to talk to her redheaded friend and her Spirit Guide, but she knew she had to wait until after visiting the doctor. Molly greeted her friend from the backseat while Ilene kissed her daughter's cheek as the blonde sat in front. It was a thirty minute ride to their new family doctor, Dr. Jola Stone. The examination only took a couple of hours, X-rays and prodding,  
with the white-haired old woman of thirty years of experience reporting the nose was never broken, saying the school nurse probably overreacted.  
All three women smiled, thanked the doctor for making time for them, paid the bill and left. Of course Serena knew her nose was broken and it was healed miraculously by Raye. How? Serena believed it was her friend's role as a priest, the raven-haired girl's representing Christ on Earth,  
able to heal the body and the soul and to forgive sins and to have visions of things hidden.

"We're here, sweetie."

"Eh?" It took a few seconds to get Serena back to the here and now,  
"Thanks, Mom!" A kiss on the cheek and the odango blonde quickly slipped out of SUV followed by Molly, "We'll make sure to be home for dinner,"  
anticipating her mother's reminder.

"Alright, Serena," Ilene gave a knowing smile before she looked at Molly,  
"I'm depending on you to keep her word, Molly."

"I will... Ilene ..." the redhead wearing a pink jumper giggled at the put-upon look Serena gave her mother.

Once the SUV disappeared from sight, Serena turned to Molly, "How is Luna doing?"

Molly's eyes sparkled as she opened the bag hanging from her right shoulder, "I lined the bottom of the bag with a cat blanket," there was no mistaking the snoozing out of the black cat, her small satin body curled and her tummy moving slowly up and down, "I think we should let her sleep until we can get that room from Andy. What do you think?"

"Luna can't really help us so I see no harm," Serena straightened as Molly closed the bag, "but are you sure we can sweet talk Andy and his sister into letting us use the room?"

"Only one way to find out, Serena," Molly moved toward the entrance of the Royal Crown complex.

The last time Serena was inside of the entertainment complex, she hadn't known about the private karaoke rooms located next to the first floor bathrooms, where the arcade center was located on the other side. The entrance to the movie section was located on an elevated platform that could be reached by a short staircase or wheelchair ramp once you paid for your ticket at the ticket booth positioned in front of them. After the movie the family watched on Saturday, they had gone through the twin glass doors to enter the Heaven's Crown Creamery. The sandwiches were simple but very tasty. It was the ice cream creations that even after the intervening days still made Serena's tummy rumble with desire,  
causing Molly to giggle and Serena to blush, "Down, girl," the blonde rubbed her tummy, "business first, treat later."

"Hi there Andy!" Molly's greeting helped Serena spot Andrew sitting behind the cashier booth for the arcade center.

"Well-well, nice to see you, Molly," the young man looked up from the books and papers he had spread out over the glass and metal of the booth,  
"I see you are well enough to play hooky."

"Please, if I had a choice I would've been in school today," Molly playfully let the tip of her tongue to stick out, "but the nervous neilies at the hospital want me to rest for the rest of the week."

Andrew chuckled as did Molly, making it pretty clear to Serena the two were old friends, "I'm glad you are doing better," his gaze shifted to the blonde, "and I see a lack of bandages on your part, Serena."

"Yep!" Serena lightly rapped the side of her head, "Knock on wood!" That got more sounds of amusement from the other two.

Andrew relaxed even more as he lean back in his seat, "So did you two want to play an arcade game or see a movie," his smile got a little bigger, "I would suggest the creamery but I don't know if my sister recovered from the last time Serena was in there."

"Hey!" Serena stomped her right foot, "It wasn't that bad, it was just a banana split."

"Yeah, the Celestial Bull," Andrew's smile getting bigger and bigger,  
"and Lizzy told me in a dazed state of how you down it in five minutes."

Molly burst out into laughter and then Serena heard a muffled giggle come from the bamboo bag hanging from her friend's shoulder, "What's this,  
Pick-On-A-Blonde-Month?" Truly with the way September had started, this blonde was starting to wonder about that.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Serena," Andrew got control over his humor, "but from what I witness between you and Darien, I would think you can give just as good as you can get."

Serena frowned at the mention of the satin black-haired man, but Molly opened her mouth first, "Andy, I was wondering about how things were going with booth number seven?"

"Don't ask." He slumped more when he notice Molly's expression showed she wasn't going to take that as an answer, "We just spent two-thousand dollars to replace the music system inside of it after it caused a hair raising experience for the last group to use it."

"Hair raising?" Serena blinked a couple of times.

"A group of girls used the booth the last time," Andrew nodded slowly,  
"and someway, somehow, the music system produced a substantial charge of static electricity."

Serena's eyes widen, "They got jolted?"

"Let's just say their skirts cling to their shirts, blouses and tank tops," the expression on Andrew's face told he wished the circumstance wasn't so dire, "crackling sounds was coming from inside their pants or panties."

Molly blushed and Serena tried to hide hers by glancing into the arcade center like she was scoping out the games, it took a couple of minutes for them to get the image of those revealed girls out of their heads before the redhead asked, "What happened afterwards?"

"My Dad gave each girl a year pass and gift cards before they signed legal papers so their parents couldn't sue us," Andrew ran his right fingers through his hair, "but this is just the last in a string of accidents involving number seven since we added those karaoke rooms."

"Geez, sounds like the number seven isn't so lucky," Serena peeked between the books and papers on the booth to look at the prizes for the arcade games.

"I'm sure no one will use number seven," Andrew's tone spoke of resolve,  
"already we had clients come in a wait for one of the other rooms to free up instead of using it."

"What if someone was to rent the room on a monthly basis," Serena heard the cunning in Molly's voice was when she made the offer, "do you think your father would accept such an offer?"

"Let see..." Clearly Serena wasn't the only one who spotted the gleam in Molly's eyes, "I am in charge of the arcade as well as the karaoke rooms," his smile showed it, "but Dad will want a reasonable rental so I really couldn't give you that much of a discount, Molly, despite me knowing you such a long time."

"We're quite willing to work here," Molly cleared her throat at Serena's interruption. "Well, we are, aren't we, Molly?"

"I think Molly wanted to do a little bargaining," Andrew chuckled, "and use you working here as one of her chips."

"Oh..." Serena gave Molly an apologetic look, "Sorry, Molly."

"It's alright, Serena," Molly sighed as her gaze shifted to Andrew,  
"What about it? Part-time work, in exchange for a monthly rental of room number seven?"

"Have either one of you held a job before?" Andrew rubbed his chin.

Molly shook her head while Serena said, "Well, I was offered one a couple of times in India but Dad told me I was too underage for that kind of profession."

Fly-catching expressions was Serena's reward from the other two before Andrew commented, "Okay..." he shook his head to clear his thoughts before continuing, "Dad does believe young people should learn how business works from the bottom up so I don't see any problem both of you working here."

"What hours?" Molly leaned forward a little, giving Andrew a flirting look.

Andrew laughed a little at Molly's teenager attempt to influence him,  
"Turn off the sex, Molly, I know Melvin is your boyfriend." Then he blinked a little, "By the way, where is he?" The college man looked about, "I wouldn't think he would let you out of his sight after what happened."

"Melvin couldn't get out of the first meeting of the Science Club this school year," Molly did sound disappointed, "since he is club president.  
"

"Cool!" Melvin's stock kept going up and up by Serena's opinion, then the odango blonde shifted back to Andrew, "So about our offer?"

A serious expression returned to Andrew but both girls could tell he was trying not to smile, failing, "What about ten hours a week?" His smile got bigger at the eager nod from both, "That way you get some pocket change plus discounts and the job won't have a big impact on your study time," then his voice turned serious, "but you will have to work Saturdays." Pouts were their reaction to the last word but when he didn't relent, they both nodded, "Then you're hired."

Both girls grinned and hugged each other followed by Molly asking, "When do we start."

"Well first you both need to fill out job applications while I call Dad and give him the lowdown on the deal for his approval," Andrew pulled up the job application forms and a couple of pens followed by his cell phone, "and even after that we'll need to work out a contract between you two and Heaven's Crown."

"Okay!" Twin shouts of glee coming from the girls and they dived into filling out the forms.

Halfway through the girl's paperwork, Andrew spoke up while he held the cellphone to his ear, "Dad just approved the deal," he listened some more before adding, "He wants me to handle it since I'm in charge of this section."

Serena and Molly nodded, followed by another fifteen minutes of intense pencil-pushing before each gave back the job application forms,  
"Finished!"

"Good," Andrew accepted the forms from both girls before he took a form from a printer and put it down in front of the teenagers, "Here is the contract." The heads of the blonde and redhead touched as they read the form, carefully studying it before they each took turns signing it. When the blond young man put his signature on it, Serena and Molly bounced on their toes and hugged each other, not noticing the gasp coming from the bamboo bag being compressed between the two teens. "Why don't you two go see the place you just took responsibility for?"

With key in hand, Andrew led the two girls pass the bathrooms and down the hallway where the booths are, each with a number over the door. Upon entering the room with seven over the door, Molly blinked hard while Serena let out a squeal, "It's just like a Japanese one!"

Indeed, there was a huge and very expensive karaoke machine fixed to the left side of the room with a LCD monitor for various uses, from grading performances to watching videos to viewing television; in fact Serena spotted a keyboard under a monitor probably to allow the user to create their own music videos. Of course there are several cordless microphones,  
each in their holder upon an oblong table located in the middle of the room, and finally the seating was a long curved sofa of bright blue upon black steel legs, the same style as the table. There were strobe lights located at each corner of the room with multiple-colored lens along with tall corner speakers. Following Molly further into the room, Serena felt her feet sink and looked down to notice the floor was covered by spongy white matt.

"The rubber matt is meant to make it easier to clean," Andrew answered Serena unspoken question, "and the walls and ceiling are covered with easy clean paint."

"The ceiling too?" Molly asked while she bent down to look closer at the brand name of the karaoke machine.

"You'd be surprised how high a drink can spatter or food thrown," a knowing tone coming from Andrew as he came up the rear. He paused for a half-a-minute before asking, "So how you like it?"

"It's groovy!" Serena bounced around in the middle of the room.

"I second the motion," Molly giggled at the blonde's enthusiasm, "can we use it now?"

"With all the paperwork done, I don't see why not," he motions at the surroundings before holding his hand out to the girls, "Welcome to the entertainment business."

"Thanks!" Serena shook his offered hand.

Molly shook Andrew's hand after Serena,, "So when is our first day of work?"

"Saturday, five p.m.," Andrew switched to a business-like tone, "I will need you to bring written permission from your parents and I'll need your measurements for your uniforms," a touch of a smile on his lips, "Dad likes to have his employees wear a custom made uniform so they can work in any part of the center."

"Gotcha, Boss Teach!" Serena nodded as she picked up one of the cordless microphones, "I'll be here with bells on my toes!"

Molly giggled a little more, "Same here..."

"Then I'll leave you two to get acquitted with your room," Andrew headed for the hallway, "Hopefully you guys can break the jinx."

"Me too," Serena shivered a little at the prospect; she really didn't want an accidental meeting with static shock.

Andrew was about to close the door behind him when he said, "Oh, the door doesn't have a lock so you should keep things in here PG unless you don't mind an audience."

Serena gave Andrew a hurt look while Molly groaned, "Andy!"

"You'd be surprise what teenagers think they can get away with here,"  
Andrew closed the door.

There was a paused of activity in the room ended by Luna poking her black-furred head out of the bamboo bag hanging from Molly's arm, looking about, "So this is our new headquarters?"

"Yep!" Serena put her hands on her hips, "You like it?"

Luna hopped out of the bag with little effort, "It looks okay," she peeks under the sofa, "doesn't seem to be any rat droppings."

"Okay?" a letdown tone came from Serena, "Our headquarters is a teenager dream, Luna."

"Not mine, Serenity, I'm more into silk, goose feathers and oak," she went under the table, "this is like a Roman Consul visiting a German chieftain's camp in the wilds of the Black Forest after living in the Eternal City of Rome."

Serena muttered something about spoiled furballs while Molly covered her smile with her hand, then she cleared her throat before saying, "The karaoke machine is top of the line."

"Then we go to phase two," with those words Luna's form became an image of translucent sparkles, then it begun to grow, larger, fuller, and in a few heartbeats Luna is standing before Molly and Serena in her humanoid form, her long, tumbling curly black hair caused her porcelain skin to glow like moonlight. You could have heard a pin drop, so soundless the room, Serena felt so enchanted by Luna's beauty and the gasp from Molly's direction reflected the same feelings. Luna opened her eyes and checked out the canary yellow dress, "Do I look good enough to be mistaken for an American?"

Luna's professional tone pulled both girls out of their daze, "Eh... yes,  
Luna," Molly answered.

Serena then spotted the oblong black case in Luna's dainty hands, "Is that the moon crystal you told us about, Luna?"

"Yes, Serenity," Luna walked over to the kaoroake machine, "although calling it a moon crystal does make it sound too much like a piece of magic than a complex scientific device," she put the oblong box on top of the entertainment center and opened it, "I just hope the different technological level of this," inside the box Serena and Molly saw a transparent eight-sided or octagon crystal that looked like it was built by smaller and smaller versions of itself until the last one was too small to see, "isn't too great to merge with this," she motioned at the what the box was sitting on.

"Only one way to find out, Luna," Molly sat down on the sofa and picked up the largest pillow she could find within reach, "what worse could happen than a city wide power outage."

At the mention of possible consequences, Serena realized they might have forgotten something, "Luna, what about the Fallen?" She looked deep into the Spirit Guide's golden eyes, "Could they detect the moon crystal power-up or trace its signal."

"No, when the sky kingdoms fell, their destruction also destroyed the culture the Fallen had used as their pawn, thus sending themselves along with human race back into the depths of ignorance and superstition," Luna looked away from the large crystal as if its existence was a reminder of a task left unfinished, "nor do the Fallen supernatural abilities give them the capacity to sense the creations of sky kingdom science," the glitter of her long polished fingernails showed her stroking the clear crystal, "but I am pleased you asked that question, Serenity, it shows you have an deductive mind." At this moment Luna turned to Molly, "What of you, Molly Eve? Once I active this ancient relic, there is no turning back for you either?"

Serena's baby blues flash with anger at Luna's question, thinking they had already gone over this subject the night before, but her own protest was stopped by a look from her redheaded friend. Molly smiled and faced Luna, "Luna, I know you think little of me as an aid in the holy war you are taking Serena...Sailor Moon into, but I do have a question for you."

Luna's long lashes flow as she blinked, "Which is?"

"Could it be by your stubborn reluctance to include me," Molly kept her voice soft, "you might be denying the destiny given to me by God?"

Serena smiled at the surprised look upon Luna's face, both knowing Molly was flinging back at the Spirit Guide the argument used on Serena to accept her destiny. Those amber orbs stared deep in emerald eyes before three words whispered, "Let it be."

Was it the words or Luna touching the moon crystal in a certain way?  
Whichever was the cause a sparkling glow appeared in the center of the octagon object before the shine slowly spread to filling the transparent structure with a soft glow. Serena felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise at the soft sigh she heard at the crystal descended into the karaoke machine, seeming to pass into the device of plastic, silicone chips, wires and power supply. What followed was described on the local evening news as a brownout, a power flux of unknown origin causing the lengthy flickering of lights and the rebooting of many-many electrical devices. As to what the moon crystal was doing to the insides of the karaoke machine, Serena could only guess and a quick glance at Molly told the blonde her friend was wondering too. Only when beams of light came out of the corner strobe lights and converged in the center of the room,  
the white incandescent core taking on a three-dimensional form of humanoid mass; a woman crowned with lunar bright hair. Only then Serena understood the transformation of the simple earth device. To Serena, the woman held the same embodiment of elegant femininity she saw in Luna. In the lost past some Michelangelo or Raphael created this image of the perfect female body, the clothes she wore looked like something from China's Chin Dynasty, colors of white and pale yellow with trappings of silver, yet the material so wispy it did nothing to hide the light brown tan of her full-figured body. Her eyes so blue even the upturned horned moon upon her forehead couldn't break the enchantment those pools reign in Serena's thoughts. In fact it wasn't until the teenager noticed what style the newcomer's hair was in that the spell broken.

Odango-style.

"Luna!" Serena wheeled about on the startled Spirit Guide, "You told me I wasn't royalty!" She then pointed at the equally startled woman standing on the table, "Then why does her hair copy my hairstyle?"

"Serenity," Luna hissed as her own cat-ear buns flattened , "you are being impolite."

"Listen, furball," Serena leaned forward, "I want a better answer than one of my ancient ancestors was a refugee."

"Serenity, I would think your teenage shop-til-you-drop nature would recognize a trend when you see one," Luna leaned too, their noses almost touching, "and odango hairstyle was a trend half the women in the Moon Kingdom indulged in!"

A chime-like giggle cut off Serena's retort, "I see God has given us an interesting Sailor Moon." The white-haired woman turned and held her hand out to Molly, "Child, could you help me down?"

"Of course," Molly blinked out of her daze and took the hand with one of her own, blinking even more as she helped the lady to the floor, "Ooo...  
I can feel you... but I thought you are a hologram."

"I am, child, it would take too much energy to solidify my body and it is not necessary at this point in time," she smiled gently at Molly and gave the redhead's hand a little squeeze, "what you feel is an electrical stimuli of the nerves in your hand."

Serena straightened while Luna's form shifted to her cat form and jumped onto the table, "Lady Selene, I am glad you are still functioning," a sigh of relief coming from the black animal, "your inactivity made me worried."

"Selene?" Serena knew that the use of the moon crystal was to make contact with what Luna described as a super computer existing under the ruins of the Moon Kingdom, at least a hope to make contact, "That name sounds familiar but the only Selene I know is the singer from Mexico."

"The name should be familiar to you, Lady Serenity, since it is the name of the Greek moon goddess as well as the name of the co-founder of the royal family of the Moon Kingdom, Selene Serenity." She giggled again at the hot glare Serena gave Luna, who rolled her amber eyes, "And yes, I have examined your DNA chain and family history," the depth of her blue crystal eyes made her look so wise, "and I have come to the conclusion your ancestor is from the Moon Kingdom with a 55 percent chance you are a surviving member of the royal family."

A shit-eating grin appeared on Serena's lips, a look of putting one over Luna, but then her eyebrows went up, "Examined?" The clogs spinning inside her blond head, "You were able to hack into the internet in the few seconds after Luna activated the moon crystal?"

Selene shook her head, "No, Lady Serenity, when you first used the transformation wand, it sent a sample of your DNA to me and I analyzed it."

"So you have been active since her use of the wand?" Molly asked, still holding the hologram's hand and marveling at the feel.

"I have been active since Sailor V was awakened," A sad expression appearing on Selene's ivory face as she looked down at Luna, "and I have come to understand you and Artemis have been having one of your differences of opinion on that subject."

Luna looked down, mortified, "Yes, Lady Selene."

"Please try to be patient with him, Luna," Selene slipped her fingers under Luna's chin and gently rubbed it, "both you and Artemis scored genius level on your scholastic tests but like most geniuses, you both have ideas on how to solve a problem."

"Geniuses..." Serena felt a little proud, having been selected by Luna.  
Her baby blues gained a curious look, "Selene, can I ask some questions?"  
She drew the attention of the black cat and the hologram, "I know we don't have much time today but there are a few things I'm curious about that I haven't asked Luna."

"I will answer your questions, Lady Serenity, but first," she turned her attention fully on Molly, "Lady Molly Eve Baker, I don't know why Lady Serenity let alone Luna are allowing you to be here, but I presume it is because you know who is Sailor Moon, correct?"

"Yes, I know Serena is Sailor Moon, she saved my life," Molly felt the weight of her words on her young shoulders, "but even more I want to help, I believe God is calling upon my generation to save the future and I can't let Sailor Moon and the other Sailor Scouts be the only answerers of that call."

"Your parents should be very proud of your decision, Lady Molly," Serena saw the air ripple between Selene's face and Molly's face, the hologram's eyes flashing sky blue followed by Molly's eyes glowing neon green,  
"Catch her."

It was a lightning move by Luna, her cat form going to her humanoid form in mid-air as she leaped from the table, sliding under Molly's falling body and let out an oaf as the redhead collapsed in her arms. Looking down at the shaking body in the Spirit Guide's embrace, Serena's own eyes flood with anger, "What did you do to MOLLY?"

Selene looked over her shoulder at Serena, "For Molly to use the wand given to her by Luna at maximum effectiveness, it was necessary to alter her body and DNA." The hologram knelt next to Luna, "Lady Molly, can you hear me?" A shaky nod came from the redhead, "You are now a Guardian,"  
her pale hand reaches across raven-haired woman and strokes Molly's sweaty forehead, "your duty is to protect the secret identities of the Sailor Scouts and their families." Molly's expression changed from confusion to weak delight before her eyes close and her body relaxed against Luna, "She will sleep for a while as her body finish its transmutation." Selene turned back to Serena, "I'm sorry if my action was so abrupt but my source of power isn't infinite."

At seeing how sincere Selene was, Serena nodded and even smiled, "I think Molly would've been disappointed if you hadn't." She moved over to Luna and looped her arms around Molly's calves, "Let's put her on the sofa,  
Luna." Luna nodded and helped to lay the redhead upon the sofa with the Spirit Guide's lap as a pillow. Serena then turned to Selene and she was about to ask the first of her questions when her gaze caused her shyness about the hologram's lack of underwear to kick in, "Eh... Selene," the blonde blushed, "could you make your clothes less see-through."

More chime giggles and in a blink of an eye Selene's clothes were solid in weave, "Now for your questions, Lady Serenity."

"Yeah..." Serena composed herself before asking, "Were the Spirit Guides created by God and how much have they and the Sailor Scouts changed over the centuries?"

"Yes, the Spirit Guides were created by God," Selene smiled at Luna, who gently combed Molly's crimson hair from her forehead, "and they have changed over the centuries just as the Sailor Scouts have," her voice was gentle, "some of the existing Spirit Guides are the offspring of unions between Spirit Guides, both Luna and Artemis are from such unions."

Serena's mind became more interested due to Selene's answer, "How many of the original Spirit Guides remain?"

A sad expression appeared on Selene's face, "Only three are left," her crystal blue eyes take on a distant look, "unlike the Sailor Scouts, the Spirit Guides are vulnerable to the contrary exposure of time and the continuous hunting of them by the Fallen," a spark of anger flicker in the hologram's eyes at the mention of the Fallen, "two of them you most likely will meet but the third one has withdrawn from the world, its grief at the lost of so many comrades and friends has left it unwilling to bear any more pain."

Sympathy stabbed into Serena's heart and to avoid more bad feeling, she turned her attention to another question, "Luna mentioned an earth kingdom used by the Fallen to bring about the destruction of the sky kingdoms."

"Yes, Pacifica, or at least that is how the name would be translated into your tongue, Lady Serenity," Selene raised her right hand, palm up, and a ten-inch blue globe appeared above it. "what remains of Pacifica you call Australia and Southeast Asia." Her tone once more becoming sad, "But Pacifica wasn't a desert or a chain of islands, it was once a land with an inland sea of immense size and freshness, immense forest of giant trees, high tech farms and cities built on artificial islands."

"Did the people of the sky kingdoms come from Pacifica?" Serena kept glancing down at Molly every so often.

"Yes at first, the drive exploration took the first people of Pacifica into space and to establish the first outposts upon the Moon and the planets," Selene nodded, "but the ebb-and-flow of politics and public attention upon these first settlements, forced these first astro-settlers to become independent and this self-efficiency drove their science."

"You mean Pacifica took for granted their colonies?" Serena guessed.

"Correct, Lady Serenity, they established settlements in what became China, Egypt and the Middle East, becoming involved in something similar to what happened here on this continent," Selene frowned, her voice showing disapproval, "the native population becoming servants, slaves and farmers for the Pacifica born rulers." The pale woman paused for a minute for her words to sink in before adding, "By the time Pacifica turned their focus back to space, those space colonies weren't any more, they were independent kingdoms, able to support each other as well as offer goods and services Pacifica could only get from them."

"What happened?" Serena had a bad feeling what the answer would be.

"A single pebble dropping into a pool." Selene glanced down at Luna, her eyes very sad, "The people of Pacifica and their leaders could barely stomach the idea that their neglect and hunger for new lands caused the space colonies to become the sky kingdoms. They couldn't understand why the people of the sky kingdoms and their leaders felt resentment at being maltreated by them," suddenly her tone turned icy, "but what really turned Pacifica's hubris attitude into anger and loathing, the pebble,  
was the birth of the Sailor Scouts in the sky kingdoms."

Serena heard two gasps and sort for the source of the other, finding slits showing Molly's green eyes, "How you feeling, Molly?"

"Like I have a front row seat at a progressive heavy metal concert," her words groaned out more than spoken, "I think the drummer is using my skull."

Luna began to gently massage Molly's temples, "The transmutation can be very painful, Molly Eve," the Spirit Guide kept her a whisper, "I'm glad a headache is your only suffering."

"Thanks..." Molly let out a positive sound as Luna's fingers work their magic, her teenage eyes closing, "please... continue... Selene..."

"Alright," Selene smiled at the prone girl's pain being soothed by the loving care of the Spirit Guide. "To understand the outrage of the people of Pacifica at the birthing of the Sailor Scouts amongst the populous of the sky kingdoms, I will need to give you some religious background of the nation," her expression a little regretful, like she knew she was about to go into a subject most people find boring.

Serena sat at Molly's feet, looking up at the hologram, "Go on, Selene,  
I'm actually curious about this subject."

"Very well but let me know when it gets too much for you," Selene cleared her throat, "The first book of what is called the Torah, Genesis, only contained a thimbleful of the early history of the religion given to Abraham by God, in some ways this was a second chance for the rebirth of direct worship of him by Adam and Eve and their descendants."

"A rebirth?" Serena interrupted, "Like how one of the names for God,  
Elohim, is plural in Genesis?"

"Correct, Serena," Selene leaned against the table, "From the history of the Garden of Eden, Adam, Eve, their children, the Fallen and the Sailor Scouts, a religion grew where God wasn't worship directly, it was even considered a sin to even mention his name even in prayer, and so you had the development of a religion with God as a godhead while aspects of him was worshipped under different names."

"Sounds similar to what I saw in India," Serena's hands upon her knees,  
"the Hindu's gods and goddesses representing different parts of the godhead."

"It reminds me of that dualistic religion of the Persians," Molly added weakly, keeping her eyes closed, "Zoroastrianism I think it's called."

"The religion of Pacifica remained monotheistic instead of becoming pluralistic or dualistic as what happened to those two religions,"  
Selene's hands held the edge of the table, "but a major part of the religion was the worship of the Sailor Scouts as God's appointed protectors of the children of Adam and Eve."

"Like the worship of the saints and Mother Mary?" Serena's fingers squeeze her knees.

"Yes," Selene leaned a little forward when she spotted a frown on Serena's lips, "Is something wrong, Lady Serenity?"

Serena sighed, looking down a little, "I just don't like the idea of me being worshipped like those Sailor Scouts were," her frown deepened, "I can understand it happening, I've read several biographies of the saints so I sort of understand how it could happen," she shrugged a little, "I just don't see myself as saint material that's all, kind of makes me feel like a pretender, a fake."

Serena heard a soft, protested groan followed by a hand touching her shoulder. She looked up and found Molly had struggled to a sitting position, "Don't worry, Serena, I'm sure those saints thought the same thing."

"Really?" The bright-eyed surprise on Serena's part showed she didn't consider that possibility.

"Sure," Molly winced at the volume of her own voice, "besides I think Luna will keep your head from swelling up too much," she painfully looked over her shoulder at Luna, "right, Luna?"

"Right, Molly Eve," Luna smiled at Molly and then looked at Serena, "I will double my efforts to make sure Serenity won't get big headed."

"Jezz..." Serena grinned wide, "you guys are all heart..."

Serena couldn't finish her statement due to a knock on the door followed by a feminine voice, "Molly, are you and your friend still here?"

Serena's eyes go wide and she waves her hands to get everyone's attention, "We'll meet here tomorrow," she looked at Luna and then Selene, "Okay?"

Selene smiled and nodded, her form fading into nothingness, "We can begin your training then too."

Serena blinked at the idea of training and turned to Luna, but the Spirit Guide had already changed into her cat form and made a beeline to the bamboo bag. Molly got in a more comfortable position on the curved sofa,  
saying feebly, "We're still here, Lizzy."

The door opened a crack and then was pushed slowly wide by a foot with Elizabeth carrying a tray with two ice cream sundaes, three scoops each with whip cream crowns and chocolate ribbons, "I'm glad you two are here," her brown eyes matching the cute smile upon her lips, "I wanted to treat both of you to a welcome aboard desserts."

Serena's smile turned into a big bad wolf grin, "I think my sweet tooth is going to like working here."

Molly giggled at the way Serena picked up the spoon and dug into her rich delicacy "Thank you, Lizzy, I hope you and Andy won't regret having us here."

"Of course not," Elizabeth tucked the tray under one arm, "you were the best kid I babysit, always ready to do your homework, take your bath and go to bed," her shoulder-length brown hair frosted with rusty red, "the only thing I think I'm going to have to worry about is your friend's bottomless stomach."

Molly and Elizabeth giggled while Serena winked, "Could be!"  
********

Location: Room 222 Japanese Language Class, Juuban High School

Friday rolled around and by the first period class Serena was on pins-  
and-needles. Her baby blues kept glancing over at Ami, the pale girl wearing another of her gothic creations: a violet English riding dress with equally dark purple leather knee boots, pale purple ruffles where the skirt ended just above her her ankles. The pale girl was typing away on her laptop, her bottomless blue eyes watching the teacher and seemed to be taking down the oral exercises when the students did them. Once the school bell rang, Ami slightly inclined her head when the blonde nodded to her. They both stood almost at the same time with Serena saying,  
Takei-sensei, can we have a moment of your time?"

"Hai," the teacher's old eyes watched as Serena and Ami came to him.

Ami's expression remained aloof, making Serena a little nervous when she asked, "Me and Ami and a few of our friends and other students are going to start a Go club and we were hoping you would be our teacher supervisor."

Takei's expression became thoughtful as he took his time studying each girls face, "A Go club?"

"An all girls' Go club," Ami clarified, "I was a member of the chess club but found the male members lacking in maturity."

"They're a pain in the ass," Serena knew she wouldn't forget what those three boys did to Raye.

"The girl students here need a club where they can compete in an international game," a drop of acid in Ami's tone, "without harassment from boys."

Those eyes in Takei's Asian face hardened at the mention of the treatment experienced by Ami and Serena, "Hai, I can understand such occurrences,"  
then a thin smile appeared on his lips, "so I will be your teacher supervisor for the Go club."

"Awesome!" a flash of a smile appeared on Ami's face at Serena's cheer,  
her dark eyes saw the blonde pull a sheet from her backpack, "Takei-  
sensei, do you think you could do something for the club?"

"Oh?" Takei blinked at Serena's eagerness.

"Yes," she handed the sheet to the teacher, "Me and a friend of mine worked on this flyer all night." The white sheet had a Go board as background with the printing overlapping, pleading for female students to join the club. "Could you use the school printer to run off some copies so we can spread them all over school and some of the hangouts?"

Takei took a moment before replying, "I believe this can be done,  
Serena," a concern look appearing on his weathered face, "but have you thought of where you would like to have your first meeting? You might get more lookers than actually ones wanting to join so you might need a large meeting place." Both girls looked at each other before shaking their collective heads, "What about the old Levy Center ? The place is about one hour walk from the school."

Serena liked the idea but was a little worried, "Can we get it on short notice? I was hoping to have the first meeting Monday." She pointed at a spot on the flyer, "See, we left a spot where we can put the date, time and location."

"I'll call," Takei looked over the flyer, "and if it is available, which one of you should I page ?"

"Me," Serena touched her chest, "Ami is going to be the commander-in-  
chief while I'm going to be an elite scout!" The grinned wide, looking back and forth at the thoroughly confused looks other two faces, it took a moment for her to realize what she said, "Ah...I mean Ami is going to be club president while I'll be club vice-president." The puzzled looks cleared so the petite teen added, giving the teacher a CD disk and a piece of paper with her cell phone number on it, "Will fifty copies be alright? I can get a few of our friends to help post them."

Takei nodded slowly before glancing at the wall clock, "You two better hurry to your next class. I will let you know soon about the hall."

"Takei-sensei ," both girls bowed and departed as befitted their personalities.  
********

Location: Fountain Square, Lunchtime

Takei contacted Serena by cell phone to report the Levy Center would be available for the Go club recruitment meeting, even revealing the guy running the place was an old army buddy when the teacher was a three-  
stripped sergeant in Vietnam. Serena smiled and turned to Ami and Lita,  
"Well, it looks like we got our club up, I just hope there are enough girls here interested in Go to join."

"Don't worry, GF, I'll help you get those flyers out," Lita held a plastic container in one hand and a fork in the other, the aroma of black bean sauce arising from it, "which reminds me, how many playing sets do we have?"

"I have three sets I can donate to the club," Ami used chopsticks to daintily take a bite of piece of glazed roasted pork. She chewed slowly,  
swallowing before saying, "This is very well done, Lita, the texture and taste is very much like pork."

"Yeah..." Serena picked up once more her share of their lunch, "I didn't know going vegetarian could taste so good!" She picked up her own fork,  
pausing for a second to add, "I have three sets I can bring if Mom allows me to use her set."

"Ah... come on, sisters, you're turning my head," the wide smile and blush upon ebony cheeks showed Lita taking the compliments to heart. She used a moment to eat some of her food before she continued, "I hate to say this but if we really want our club's recruitment drive to work, we might try to get a popular girl to join," her expression showed she didn't like the idea herself, "while Ami is well-known she isn't popular,  
you're totally new, Serena, and I'm a transfer from Saint Mary's so my rep is limited to those into women sports."

A frown appeared at the corners of Serena's mouth as she took a sip of her milk, she knew Lita was right and with her hand coming down , she spotted a tight knot of girls sitting at a stone bench and table on the other side of the square from where the threesome sat, "Hmm... maybe one of those girls would like to join."

Lita looked over her shoulder while Ami looked around the tall redhead.  
Those emerald eyes belonging to the tall teenager spotted each girl of the group wearing a canary yellow ribbon in their hair. "Go get them,  
GF," Lita grinned very wide.

Serena was too eager in getting into her backpack to noticed Ami's mild puzzlement nor the wink Lita gave the goth girl. Molly helped her print out several copies of the flyer so the blonde pulled out one of them,  
scribbling in with a black marker the time, date and location of the first meeting, "I'm off!" Her first stride carried her from her friends,  
a nod from Ami and Lita trying to cover her grin with a fork loaded with food was their response. The odango blonde noticed the yellow hair ribbons the girls sported and she even spotted the very baggy white knee socks they wore, what many viewers of anime mistaken for leg-warmers wore by Japanese school girls, but her keenness to get her feet wet in this venture kept her going. "Excuse me?" Those yellow-ribboned girls turned to face her and while the curious looks from some of them was something the petite girl expected, it was the hostile looks, bordering on possessiveness, which caught her off-guard, causing her to take a step back, "Ah..."

"Yes, can I help you?"

The voice echoed inside of Serena's memories, coming out of the blinding fog of pain and loathing she experienced two days before, a feminine quality yet brash, boyish in tenor. The rampaging of emotions left Serena's voice as fragmented as she felt inside, "Would...would you..."

"Girls, please part."

A name, Serena could remember there was a name connected to that voice.  
What was it? Was it...was it...Alex? The girls gave the odango blonde a wary look, very reluctant to move, the wall of blue jeans, skirts,  
blouses, shirts, flesh and colorful hair opened slowly to reveal a figure sitting with a stone table before her. It took a moment for Serena to really see the person seated there, a face of healthy continents, very short blond hair in a sporty style, high cheekbones, prominent nose,  
gentle lips and a Kirk Douglas cleft chin. The faded green shirt looked old, baggy, washed often, covering her shoulders and arms with the rest of her body hidden by the table and the lunch boxes and bottles covering it. There seemed to be a staring match between the two blondes before a clearing of a throat got Serena to say, "You are... Alex Kennedy?"

A manly smile appeared on the person in question, "Yes, and you are the one I carried to the nurse's office a couple of days ago," amusement in those blue eyes, "Serena, right?"

The feelings Serena experienced being carried upon Alex's back, how nice it felt being carried by a supple yet muscled body, the flowing gait of the run from the gym to the nurse's office, but then she saw the looks of some of the girls standing around Alex go from hostile to green-eyed jealousy and a couple of them even looked like they were about to burst into tears. These daggers of negativity Serena was getting from them burst her bubble, causing her to hold up the Go club flyer by the upper corners, acting like she was trying to hide behind it, "Eh... Alex... do you think your friends might like to join a Go club?"

Questioning looks spread over the girls faces but not Alex, who folded her arms and leaned back, "A Go club? Interesting, but why just my friends?" Alex glanced around at all the roses surrounding the seated youth , "Why not me?"

"Umm..." Serena didn't want to insult Alex, not after what the youth had done for her, "you see..." she shook the flyer like a bullfighter does his cape, "it's a girl's only club."

"Oh?" Alex smiled a little wider, "Then I say again, why not me," she held her hands out, palm up, "I'm a girl after all?"

Jaw-dropping shock plastered upon Serena's face, triggering a cascade of giggles from all the girls around Alex, the odango blonde was even sure she heard Lita's high-pitched laugh, making the girl shut her mouth with a loud click and her cheeks rosy. Then she noted Alex had stealthily unbuttoned her shirt when she unfolded her arms, the rumpled slit between the folds of cloth revealed what look like a sport bra and the slight valley between the breasts hinted at the smallest mounds she ever saw on someone of Alex's age. When the laughter faded, the short-haired blonde licked her lips, "It's okay, kitten, almost everyone thinks I'm a boy when they first meet me and I sort of get a kick out of how long it takes someone to find out the truth," her blue eyes glitter, "it can get even more funny if they meet my twin brother."

Brother? Twin? Serena blinked several times before she made the connection, "Gilbert?"

Serena was really surprised when Alex slowly clapped her hands,  
displaying fingers with blunt, unpainted fingernails, "I see someone has told you about me and my brother," those sapphire eyes looking behind Serena, "Did you, Alithea?"

"Nope," Serena glanced over her shoulder to find Lita standing close enough for the petite girl's left shoulder to almost touch her tall friend's very ample chest, "and Alex, its Lita."

The teeth in Lita's correction reminded Serena of the last exchange between the two athletic girls so to head off another such an encounter,  
the teenager asked, "So, Alex, you want to join our Go club?"

"I don't know, kitten," Alex ruffled the back of her head, "I'm involved in women sports and I'm on several of the boys practice squads," Serena noticed a hoodedness in the lean blonde's gaze, a pretense to reluctance, "so I'm not really sure I'll have the time."

Serena nibbled her lower lip, already believing she knew a way to get Alex to join, if Molly was right about what the Kennedy twins were doing,  
"How about a kiss from me, Alex?" She noticed the boyish girl's relaxed look slip a little, "It would be my first kiss."

"Holy Shit!" Lita's shout caused Serena to cringe, making her look even smaller next to the tall mass of black, "GF, he's ...she's not worth your first kiss!" Lita waved dismissively at the grinning butch blonde. Serena noted the mixed reaction of the girls around Alex, the temperature of jealousy going up for some while others having expressions of envy.

Alex stood up, her kaki pants so baggy that only her wide black belt around her narrow midriff kept them up, "First kiss eh?" Serena couldn't miss the way those sapphire's eyes was scrutinizing her as if she was in her birthday suit, "Probably means you don't know how to even pucker right."

Pride. There was so many things Serena knew she couldn't do, she wasn't sure about being Sailor Moon despite the support coming from Molly, Luna and now Selene, but there was a few things she thought most girls should be able to do naturally. She heard a huff coming from Lita, "Full of yourself aren't you, Alex," she felt a hand, probably Lita's, touch between her shoulder blades, the ebony youth continued, "forget this..."  
Nope, that wasn't in the odango blonde's plan, which was made clear when she deliberately stepped forward, Lita's hand slipping from her back,  
pushing through the girly crowd to leave her nose to chest with the boyish girl.

'Jesus H. Christ, how tall is she?' Serena's eyes went wide. Alex stood head and shoulders above the groupies around her, taller by a good eight inches than Lita , and here she was, four feet eleven inches of bouncy blondness, having to look up at what she found to be a very fine-looking face, even bishonen in an anime way if it wasn't for the fact Alex was a girl, 'She does have a twin brother and all of those other brothers and only one sister, maybe that's the reason she looks so much like a boy?'

A smirk lined Alex's lips, her eyes seeing Serena standing so close to her, seeming to hesitate. She turned her head, her legs binding slightly as she began to lean down, "Virgins, got me doing all the..." the boyish girl didn't even get a chance to look surprised when Serena stood on her toes, wrapped her arms around Alex's neck and yanked her head down into a smothering kiss.

Serena was using everything she could remember from watching movies all those winter nights up in the Yukon, all those black-and-white classics with the passionate kisses, because she wanted to make Alex eat her own words. She meshed her lips against those other lips, slowly turning her head to rub her mouth against the other mouth. She was even feeling a little giddy at catching Alex by surprise, but she was also enjoying the feel of the short hair her right fingers comb through, enjoying the light scent of jasmine coming from her skin. It was only when she felt Alex responding, feeling those lips opening against her lips and the tip of a tongue licking just the inside of her mouth, did Serena break the kiss off. Serena couldn't miss the looks and sounds of dismay coming from the groupies, and then there was a dazed look on Alex face, the expression causing Serena to gasp out, "How...this...virgin...do?"

Alex licked her lips, tasting the apricot flavoring of Serena lipstick smeared there, taking her time to recover her senses from the soft yet firm assault upon her butch nature, "I'll say you got basics down pat..."  
a lopsided smile appearing, "you're going to be scary after you get a some more lip locks under your belt."

Serena giggled while Alex looked about her, "Alright, girls, it looks like I'm joining the Go club," she pulled out a plain white handkerchief , "anyone coming with me?" Serena gawked when all of the groupies raise their right hand, despite the jealous or envious looks they were giving the odango blonde. Alex bent down and picked up the flyer from where Serena had dropped it, "So when are the rest of the flyers going to be ready?"

"Oh... eh... I'm suppose to pick them up from Mr. Takai after school,"  
the effects of the kiss was starting to catch up with Serena, her cheeks blushing at all the envious and outraged attention she was getting, "at the school office...fifty copies."

Alex nodded and lifted her eyes to the group, saying, "You heard her,  
girls, we meet at the school office after school," to Serena there was a charismatic quality to the boyish girl's pose, "I'm sure we can distribute fifty copies without any trouble," her tenor voice strong,  
"Right?"

"RIGHT!"

The outburst from the girls around Alex caused Serena to back up quickly,  
her eyes blinking as she felt her backside bump into another, obvious feminine body. Two hands clamped onto her small shoulders and slowly turn her around. She wasn't really surprised to see it was Lita moving her with those strong ebony hands. She half expected a disapproving look on her tall friend's face, Serena having used her first kiss to bribe Alex and kissing a girl on top of that. Instead she saw two green pools rippling with humor which matched her words, "So this is what happens to sisters who live in the land of the midnight sun?"

The moon was barely bigger than Serena's baby blues , vigorously shaking her head as her mouth rapid-fired,  
"...  
"

"I was just teasing, Serena," a few muffled, flustered sounds came from the petite blonde, "Ami told me about the contest," Lita kept her hand flat to Serena's mouth as the blonde look to one side and saw the goth girl had joined them, "so we're cool, GF."

Serena nodded and Lita's hand dropped from the blonde's lips, allowing the petite girl to pout, "Am I so black and white?"

"Is Martin Luther King Jr. black ?" Lita chuckled softly before she looked at Alex, "You heard her, Alex?"

"Too bad, she going to melt her future boyfriend's lips," Alex shrugged but Serena noticed the girls around the boyish girl weren't disappointed.  
Then the short-haired blonde moved forward and gave Serena a hug around the shoulders with one arm, "Of course we can be friends," her eyes were shifting to Lita, "with your permission, Lita?"

"My permission?" Lita's hands coming to rest on her hips covered by her old pleated skirt.

"I saw the pitbull stare you gave me," Alex's face was alite with good humor, "one false move on my part and I might have found myself flying without wings."

"Eh?" Serena turning so she could face both tall girls.

"You probably haven't had a chance to notice how calloused your friend's hands are or feel the killer handshake but I have, kitten," Alex's teeth flashed in the sunlight, "That's not from just women's sports either."

"Pitbull eh?" Lita frowned at first but it melted into a grin, "I do know judo, Big Sister," then her eyes glittered like gems, "and if you or your bro even try to kiss me, I'd be happy to give you a demonstration."

A hearty laugh came from Alex, "Okay-Okay," she lifted her hands in mock surrender, "I get the message, no kiss-kiss for Lita from myself or my brother," one of her hands did come down to rest on the back of Serena's neck, "maybe one of these days I can invite you two to my home and you can meet my family," her gaze shifted to Ami, "you can come too, Miss Shabon."

"Unfortunately, Miss Kennedy, with my busy schedule of school, study and club activity, I prefer any social activity to stay at a minimum," Serena blinked at the cool words coming from the girl genius, "besides I believe your twin brother has yet to forgive me for what happened to his bicycle."

"Bicycle? Oh..." Serena remembered the Melvin-Molly-Ami exchange about the boy's science project.

"Dad was really impressed how you expertly disassembled Gilbert's bike down to its individual parts without any sign of damage to them," Alex bowed slightly to Ami, "he even wondered if you might be interested in becoming a Mechanical Engineer?"

"I did it to remind you and your brother there are limits to this contest you two are indulging in," Ami ignored Alex's compliment, "which is why I left the note there with suggestions."

"And we took to heart your suggestions, Miss Shabon, as well as the hint from the sight of the pile of metal," Alex motioned her head at her groupies, each one of them displayed either confusion, insight, jealous,  
envy, amusement or a mix of any of the above, "especially the one about us becoming sport stars."

"Both you and your brothers are exceptional physical specimens," Ami speaking like a professor, "especially you, Miss Kennedy, despite lacking an extra male chromosome, your female body is sixty percent male."

Pressure came from Alex's hand upon the back of Serena's neck, the petite blonde could feel the tension radiating off of boyish girl, realizing that Alex found the issue of her gender a sore spot, "Hey, let's stop all this Miss Kennedy-Miss Shabon stuff," Serena moved out of giantess' grip,  
looking at Alex and then Ami, "we are all going to be members of the Go club so bury the hatchet and start anew." The odango teen skipped behind Ami and without asking she hooked the pale girl's elbows, pushing her friend into Alex's shadow, "Ami this is Alex," her voice almost purring,  
"I don't know much about her but she does seem to be a good person from a large family," Then her baby blues look up at the short-haired blonde,  
"Alex, this is Ami," a big time smile on her lips, "she is really smart and her fashion sense is the cat's meow !"

Startled?

Awkward?

These are small words to compare with what Serena saw in those eyes belonging to Ami and Alex, both of them forced out of their cool or charming shells by a girl with a unique hairdo, for a moment they felt vulnerable and Serena could sense it. She took hold of both of their right hands and press the palms together, "Come on, buds, we're too young to act like this." For a long moment Serena held her breath, wishing she could cross-her-fingers yet not wanting to let go of the hands. Finally she saw a ghost of a smile on Ami's black-painted lips while Alex's cheeks turn the color of sunset. Serena internalized her hooray when her hands felt the hands in her grip tighten and slightly shook.

"Looks like we got no choice... Ami," Alex's smile returned, shook Ami's hand a little firmer before letting go.

"Indeed... Alex," Ami's mask was back in place and her gaze turned from one blonde to another blonde, "Serena, is this your way of showing your displeasure of what happened with the chess club?"

"Displeasure?" Serena gawked at Ami, shocked so bad she let go of the two hands, "Well...eh... I wasn't happy thinking you might have steered me and Lita into that situation," the odango blonde was looking everywhere except to Ami and the others, "and I wasn't happy with what happened to Raye because of it," her baby blues returned back to Ami's dark eyes,  
"but it's not the reason for this, Ami." A gentle expression on her lips,  
"Maybe it's too early to say this, but I...I would like us four here to be friends," she slowly looked at Lita, Alex before returning to Ami, "I know I really don't know much about you three but each of you have helped me beyond what strangers would do. Lita is such a nice person, a great cook and I feel safe when she is with me. Alex helped me to the nurse's office when my nose got smashed due to my own fault and she didn't have to let me use her kissing contest on her or honor the agreement but she did. Then there is you, Ami..." Serena hesitated for a second before she squared herself in front of the goth girl, "I must appear like some mental midget to you, but at the same time I think you are so special, so much so I feel like I have to find a way to have you as a friend and a friend for my friends." Serena knew she was taking a gamble with Ami, but she remembered what Raye told her yesterday, about the pale messenger shrouded in wings of ice. She was sure the rider was Ami not only because her complexion but also the symbolism of the messenger as being part of the myths surrounding Mercury as the messenger of the gods. She was also sure the reference to wings of ice meant Ami could be one of the Sailor Scouts, which one she didn't know since she hadn't asked Luna nor Selene specifically about each scout.

There was murmur of sound rippling through Alex's groupies but neither Alex nor Lita said anything, both seem to sense what Ami would say outweigh anything they could say right now. Ami seemed to notice the waiting. To the petite blonde those eyes were animated, relishing the attention in her aloft demeanor. Finally rising her right hand so the back of her fingers could gently stroke the back of Serena's left hand,  
"I have never had anyone ask me to be their friend."

Serena nodded and gently took Ami's soft fingers in her left hand, "You told me," giving them an affectionate squeeze before letting them go,  
"and I hope you can forgive any miscues on my part." Before anyone else could add anything the school bell rung, telling the end of lunchtime,  
Serena saying, "Oops... looks like anything more we'll have to save for later!" Each nodded and the group scattered to what was left of their lunches and their backpacks.  
********

Location: Girl's Gym

Was it Volleyball Demon Two being played? Serena was starting to get that kind of feeling and it all seem to start the moment Lita, Serena and Ami stepped out of the locker room and into girl's indoor gym, "Return!"

A white and black-stripped ball was coming down out of the heavens, the shout giving Lita enough time to form her arms and hands into the classic position in front of her bent legs, shooting the ball back up into the air and when it came down. It was caught by the person who sent it up there in the first place, Mina. "Nice return, Lita-kins," the red hair-  
ribboned girl complimented as she walked around the volleyball net, "your form was perfect."

Lita gave Mina a long look before replying, "We missed you yesterday,  
Blue Eyes."

A soft giggle came from Mina, "Got involved in the family business," but then she spotted Serena coming from behind the redhead, "Jolly Good, you are here, Serena-kins," she tossed underhand the volleyball to Lita, who easily caught it, while the pony-tailed blonde took hold of both of the petite blonde's hands, "I wanted to apologize to you for ringing your bell."

"Its...its alright...eh...Mina isn't it?" Serena was a little confused by the -kins being attached to her name, "It was my fault more than yours. I was having a really bad blonde day."

Lita blinked as she looked over the white orb at the two blondes holding hands, faces so close together, "You know, Ami," she whispered as the pale girl came up her left side, "I wonder if Serena and Mina are distantly related."

"I agree, Lita, except for their accents and slang usage, their voices are very alike," Ami whispered back as she glanced across the gym and spotted Alex with her twin brother, once more playing basketball in the far corner, "Speaking of twins, I see our gym teacher is keeping Alex separate from the rest of the class."

"I wonder why?" Serena asked as she continued to hold Mina's hands.

"You don't know the answer?" Mina blinked at Serena, "I would think Ami-  
kins would've clued you in by now?" Her grip on Serena's hands pulled the odango blonde forward as she stepped back, "You must not be a sport fan."

"Sports? Well... I didn't watch many sports up in the Yukon," Serena looked questioning at the other girls, "except for some of the anime sport series like Princess Nine and Slam Dunk."

Lita looked a little surprise at the glee coming from Mina and the bored look coming from Ami, "if I remember correctly, Alex said she was into girl's sports."

"And the girl wins a biscuit!" Mina let go of Serena so her right fist could punch the volleyball up out of Lita's grip so ponytail blonde could catch it once more, "While her brother Gilbert is a great American football receiver and a good point guard in basketball, Alex is simply astonishing," her crystal blue eyes burn with excitement, "basketball,  
volleyball, track and field, you name the sport and she can ace it."

Serena gawked at Mina, "Wow..." her baby blues turn to watch Alex and Gilbert, "is that why Alex is on those boy's practice squads? Because she is good enough to play with them?"

"On the snoop, Serena," Mina toss the black-strapped ball with spin,  
catching it upon right index finger, "I'll bet my last schilling Alex will probably make it to the next Olympics, she broke all kinds of records for her age group in junior high and will the do the same thing now she is in high school."

"In other words our P. E. Teacher sees Alex as a professional while we are the amateurs," Ami's dark eyes mirror the stillness of her voice,  
"she doesn't want Alex presence to cause any problems."

"Righty-O!" with a flick of her right hand she sends the volleyball up and begins to bounce it repeatedly with the top of her head, "Except I'm... the professional...Alex is a...superstar."

Serena studied the twins but then an odor hit her nose, not able to stop from wrinkling her little nub of flesh and cartilage, "Peu...what's that smell?"

Lita blinked and took a sniff, "It smells like someone burnt a loaf of bread."

"Strange," Ami took a step forward, turning her head from side to side,  
"It seems to be getting..."

"Oh! It looks like class is about to begin!" Mina rolled the ball off her head but fumbled catching it with her right hand, "See you tots later!"  
The three girls watched Mina trot away, yet Serena thought she heard the ponytail blonde mumble, "Bugger shampoo... five times... bloody five times."

"That girl has some issues," Lita frowned just before the sound of the teacher's whistle.

"At least she did apologized," Serena commented as the three went over to where everyone was gathering around MacClean.  
********

Location: Heaven's Crown Center

"There!" A big grin framed upon Serena's face, her baby blues looking at the poster she just pinned up on the public message board at the center.  
She felt really proud of her accomplishment. She didn't realize when she roped in Alex that she would get the superstar's posse in the bargain.  
Sure, she did expect a popular girl like Alex would give the club much needed publicity and get a few more students interest in joining, but she didn't expect the mob she found at the admin room, standing with Alex and a surprised Takai. Luckily the teacher printed up more posters when he saw the group arriving.

"That's not a good idea you know."

That voice!

It couldn't be!

Serena turned on a dime to find herself face-to-face with Darien,  
"You..." the word loaded with venom.

"You do you know this little ego trip of you and your friends," there was a stoic look on Darien's features, "is going to put all you chickens in one coop for a fox to raid."

"Is that so," Serena stalked over to where Darien was leaning against the gift display for the arcade center, "for your information we girls don't need macho brats to take care of us."

"Do all girls from Canada act this way," Serena noted Darien was still dress in formal wear, the black tux, "or just the blonde ones?"

Serena's baby blues flash but she gets no farther, "So I see Darien is getting to know you better, Serena," Serena jumped when Andrew comes out of the arcade and stood behind the counter, the young man already switched from his professor's clothes to the theater uniform.

Serena waved one hand at Darien as if she was trying to shoo him away,  
"Andy, Why is he here?"

"I work here," hard black beads are Darien's eyes.

"What?" Serena's eyes narrow at the smug expression she was getting from the raven-haired male, "When did he become the curse of my life?"

Andrew chuckled, "Actually Darien has been working here since he graduated from high school," the paper towel he was cleaning his hands hit the garbage can, "that is when the orphanage gives you your walking papers and tell you to take care of yourself."

"Orphanage?" the fire inside of Serena immediately cooled. Her eyes glanced at Darien, seeing an irritate look on his handsome face, like he didn't like hearing Andy playing the pity card for him. That look got Serena to say, "Well, didn't they teach Mister Black there any manners?"

Was that a half-smile on Darien's face? "They taught me to use my head,  
Buns," nah, it must have been a mistake Serena concluded, "better than any pair of parents could."

Serena scowled at Darien before she turned her attention to Andrew, "Bad enough I have to see him at school, now I have to see him here," she pouted, "next you know he will be haunting my dreams."

Andrew chuckled, "Darien is our bookkeeper so you shouldn't see him unless Dad has a massive sickout," he clasped his hand on the young man's shoulder, "then you see him down here helping."

"May I not see the day," Serena muttered only to catch the sound of someone coming in and turned, "Molly!" the odango blonde brightened considerably and trotted over to her friend, giving the redhead her one remaining flyer, "They liked your design."

"Our design, Serena," she has the heavy bamboo bag with her. "Do you think your Go club is going to take off?"

"It already has," Serena clasped the back of her neck, "I got Alex Kennedy to join the club and all of his groupies followed on his... her heels," she giggles nervously, "and all I had to do is give him I mean her, one little kiss."

Molly covered her lips as she giggled, "At least this time the masher had to give something to get something."

Serena giggled more, "Why didn't you tell me Alexandra was female?"

"Just to see your reaction when you first met her," Molly's expression turning a little serious, "but you do know she was the one who carried to the nurse's office the other day?"

"I know, I remembered her voice," Serena began to lead the redhead down to the karaoke booths.

"Good afternoon, Molly," Andrew waved while Darien stood like stone next to his friend, "You well enough to work your first day here?"

"I'm not skipping school on purpose, doctor's orders," Molly showed the tip of her tongue to the male blonde, "I just glad me and Serena have some of the same classes and Melvin comes over with the rest of my school work."

As soon as the two girls are out of earshot, Serena said, "Speaking of keeping secrets from me, what about that guy Darien working here?"

Now Molly sweat-dropped, "Ah... I knew if you knew he worked here, you wouldn't accept my idea of this being the Sailor Scouts headquarters."

"You're right," Serena grinned as she opened the down to room seven, "so I'll forgive you this time."

"Don't talk so childish, Serenity," a voice came from the bamboo bag,  
"you know as well as I do, you would have still agreed to use this place," out of the item leaped out Luna as soon as Molly entered the room, "this decision is too logical even for you to deny."

Eyebrows touching the bridge of her nose, Serena closed the door, "Watch out, Luna, I'll see to it Andy makes you this place official rat catcher."

"Hunt those awful flea-ridden rodents?" Luna looked like she was about to caught up a hairball, "Your hair buns are wring too tight."

Molly giggled but Serena's retort was cut off when chime giggles echo in the room and a human-sized globe of light appeared next to the sofa, "I see everyone is doing well today." The orb condensed and took on the continents of Selene, those blue eyes full of mirth, "Are Serena and Molly ready to begin their training?"

"Training?" stereo voices coming from Molly and Serena with the petite blonde adding, "Well... before we get going with that I do have some good news."

"Oh?" Luna jumped onto the table and turned around to face her charge,  
"What kind of good news?"

"I've found two other Sailor Scouts," Molly grinned wide while Selene smiled sweetly. On the other hand Luna gave the blonde a hard look, which caused Serena to add, "At least I pretty sure they are Sailor Scouts."

"Who are they, Serena?" Molly asked, "Do I know them?"

Serena sat on one of the sofa's armrest, "One of them you do, Molly," she put her book bag on the floor between her bent legs, "They are Ami Shabon and Raye Perez."

Molly let out a whistle, "Ami... I can see her as a Sailor Scout," she rubbed her chin with one forefinger as she sat next to Serena, "She is a out-of-this-world type of girl already."

Serena smiled at Molly's estimation of Ami, nodding, "Raye Perez goes to Saint Mary's, plans to be a nun and is a friend of Lita."

"Which Sailor Scouts do you think these two are?" The way Luna asked the question made it clear that she was testing Serena's skill of observation.

A funny look appeared on Serena's face as she thought, "I'm not really sure... Raye seems to have prophetic visions and mentioned seeing, 'a pale rider cloaked in wings of ice'."

"If you have seen Ami's pale skin," Molly looked at Luna, "and felt her icy personality, you'd know that description would fit her to a tee."

"There are two Sailor Scouts who have water as their primary element,  
Sailor Mercury and Sailor Neptune," the other three turned to listen to Selene, "as for prophetic visions, there are many who can have the ability to see the future. That alone would not be enough to deem on a Sailor Scout."

"Raye told me she had been waiting for me... for Sailor Moon to come and help save everyone..." Serena's shoulders fell a little as the burden of her words weigh on her, "she healed my nose after it got smashed in PE."

"Healed?" Luna's eyes wide before they narrowed, "Serenity, you let me think your nose wasn't broken," those orbs narrow more, "like you did your parents."

"She is already a Catholic priest," Serena decided to bypass Luna's outrage, admitting, "so her healing powers and prophetic visions might come from there," some passion returned to her words, "but Raye also has seen the Fallen in her visions."

Selene's translucent eyebrows went up, "There are two Sailor Scouts who have the gift of prophecy, Sailor Mars and Sailor Neptune, each drawing upon the power of sight their element has, fire and water."

Luna nodded at Selene's words before turning back to Serena and Molly,  
"Is there anyone else who might qualify to be a Sailor Scout? Anyone who seems to feel special to you, Serenity."

"Jezz..." Serena's expression became more studious, "there's Lita of course, I feel safe and protected when I'm with her. Alex Kennedy might be but nothing's there to say yes or no about her..." then he eyes light up, "but there is one of the school councilors, Wynona Tempus, she sends off a lot of strange vibes."

This brought Molly's eyebrows up, "You mean more than just the way she dressed?"

"She has two pet ravens and the perch she has for them looks really strange," Serena nodded, "the crossbeams look like my hair and the face in the middle doesn't look Native-American."

Luna licked one of her forepaws but then she looked up at the mention of the perch, "A crossbeam? Does this perch look like a cross?"

"Yes..." Serena closed her eyes, trying to remember what the perch looked like, "the pole looked like a tree... an old... ancient tree... each side of the face had a hair bun like mine... there were images... birds and squirrels... in the crossbeam."

Luna's expression showed she was listening carefully to Serena's words before she looked over her shoulder at the white lady, "What do you think, Selene?"

"The Tree of Redemption," Selene rested her elbows on her knees and her chin on her fingers, "one of the few symbols besides the title, Defender of the Faith, to survive the destruction of Pacifica and the sky kingdoms," a soft sadness to her voice, "later the symbolism connected with it merged with those symbolisms surrounding the Cross of Christ. You can see the same symbolism surrounding the Norse myths associated with World Tree, Yggdrasil."

"Yggdrasil?" Serena's baby blues blink several times, "I watched an anime series where the name of a world supercomputer was called that," she smiled a little, "even had a three girls who were goddesses and a young man who was a boyfriend to one of them."

Luna rolled her eyes, "Focus, Serenity, focus. We don't have time for your pop culture."

Molly giggled as did Selene before the redhead asked, "So Miss Tempus having this ancient symbol in her office might mean she is connected to the Sailor Scouts or Pacifica or both?"

"Could be," Luna answered along with a thoughtful look, "but we are going to need more evidence before we can be certain." Then the black cat smiled as much as a cat can, "Good work, Serenity, I'll checkout Ami and Raye."

The sun couldn't have glowed as bright as Serena's smile thanks to Luna's compliment, "Thanks!" It was followed by a more subdued look as her vision shifted to the holographic image, "Selene, could you tell us more about the Sailor Scouts? Luna told us the Sailor Scouts of the sky kingdoms were different from the way they were on Earth when they protected Adam and Eve from the Fallen."

Selene nodded to Serena's question and with a wave of her left hand, a cup and saucer with stream rising from it appeared in her right hand,  
"That is correct, Lady Serena. The first appearance of the Instrument of Peace and her guardians were in the form of angels, and the people of Pacifica saw them as protectors of mankind and built temples to worship them," she brought the cup up to her lips, taking a little sip, "the Instrument of Peace and the Sailor Scouts were worshipped and looked upon as physical manifestation of God's Will," she rubs the edge of the cup against her full pale lips, "so you can imagine the shock and outrage amongst the population of Pacifica with the rebirth of the Sailor Scouts occurred not on Earth but in the realm of the sky kingdoms."

"A real kick in the gut?" the curiosity of watching Selene drink could be seen in Molly's green eyes.

Selene smiled over the cup, "The real kick in the gut as you say, Lady Molly , was the fact the Sailor Scouts were fighting the Fallen on Earth while they lived in the sky kingdoms," another sip from her cup, "and when they died, they were reincarnated within each of the Royal Families of the sky kingdoms."

"So the Instrument of Peace was born as Sailor Moon of the Moon Kingdom?"  
Serena piped in.

"Very close to the truth, Lady Serena," whatever the hot liquid was in the cup, it seemed to be relaxing Selene. "In a vision sent to Queen Selenity, God told her the Instrument of Peace would be born to the House of the Moon and be known as Sailor Moon . She would be raised with love and taught to carry on her duty as protector of mankind from the Fallen,"  
once more the warm liquid filled her mouth, "each of the Queens of the sky kingdoms received the same vision, each was told a Sailor Scout would be born into their Royal Family."

"So each of the Sailor Scouts are named after the sky kingdom they came from?" Molly wetted her lips.

"It was more than that, Lady Molly, it was also the merging of their angelic powers with the elemental life force of the planet as well," with a simple flick of her fingers the cup and saucer disappeared, "For instance, Sailor Mercury was the Sailor Scout of Ice but she also represented healing, travel and in its darker elements, she also represented thievery and trickery."

Serena's baby blues became like saucers, "Ami is going to become a thief?"

Chime giggles came from Selene's lips which caused the odango blonde to realize her leg just got pulled, "No, your friend isn't going to become a thief," it didn't help with Luna snickering at her too, "but it is possible as each Sailor Scout is awaken, their powers and abilities will take on new parameters, some cosmetic, some major, due to the nature of your present world."

At the mention of change, Serena was reminded of something, "Selene, you said you had to change Molly's DNA so she could use her Disguise Pen to its full power. Is that also true of the Sailor Scouts," she licked her lips nervously, "will we change too?"

"Yes, Lady Serena, your body as well as the bodies of the other Sailor Scouts will change even when you are in your human guises," a gentleness to the moonlight lady's words as she stood, "even from the time you were born, each of you are physically unique from other humans." With grace she walked over to Serena and knelt at the surprised blonde's feet, "You and the others had to be, not only because of the divine powers within your souls but also the elemental powers sealed within your flesh and bones," her shimmering gown pools around her and Serena's feet, "without the metamorphosis caused by becoming a Sailor Scout, your human bodies would burnout."

To Serena it felt like everything inside of her had gone as silent as the room around her, "Would... would I have died... if... if I hadn't become Sailor Moon?" her own voice sounded so loud in her ears.

"No, you wouldn't have died, Lady Serena," Selene put her hand on Serena's right knee, "but you wouldn't have lived a normal life," the hand was so cool upon the blonde's warm skin, "and if the Fallen had found you, they would have made you their creature."

Shudders ran through Serena body, from the corners of her eyes she could see Molly going very pale but there was a horrible sadness in Luna's eyes, a more muted version in Selene's crystal blue eyes, "Did... did it happen before?"

This time it was Luna who answered, "Yes, Serenity, it did," her black head drooped down, "Sailor Saturn... there was something wrong with her mother, inside the head. When Sailor Saturn was born, her mother took the child and fled from the Cassiel Court on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn."

"Didn't anyone stop her?" Serena blurted out.

"The court knew about Queen Hadassah hatred of living on Saturn. She loved her husband but she was born on Earth and raised to believe the sky kingdoms were realms belonging to elitists and people who weren't fully human anymore," Luna's head dropped lower, "and she wanted her child to grow up on Earth."

"The Fallen found her and the child," Serena couldn't stop herself from stating the obvious.

"Not at first, Hadassah hid from her own family and used her skill as a herbalist to find a job in a town called Eridu in the delta area of the Tigras and Euphrates Rivers," gently Molly lifted Luna from the table and onto her warm lap, stroking the black cat's back as she talked, "but it was only a matter of time before someone found her and it was the Fallen who found her."

"Oh... no..." Serena's hands clutch her knees.

"Hadassah hid her eight-year-old girl just before the Fallen captured her," Luna's voice became more and more sad, "but where the child was,  
she could watch as her mother was tortured by them because they wanted the child as well, knowing the girl was Sailor Saturn." Luna stopped, the words to heavy for her to speak them.

"The Sailor Scouts found the girl, Agiel, and the dead remains of her mother," Selene's voice not much better than Luna's, "but the damage was done. While the Fallen didn't get their hands on the child, they left a darkness inside of her by what they did to Hadassah, a darkness greater than what each person carries, a darkness that made her powers even more destructive and horrific."

"The Sailor Scout of Destruction and Rebirth," the words ring with grief from Luna, "even after her death and rebirth, the darkness remained. I pray after seventy thousand years the mark of Cain has left that noble Sailor Scout."

For a long time there was silence, reaching a point of dominance, until Serena ended it, "Did someone say something about training?"

The ice broke.

The pain, the loss, the darkness, gone for now.

Old wounds closed once more.

"Yes, training," Luna stood and leaped from Molly's lap to the table,  
turning around, "We do need to get you two on a regular training regimen," there was forced professionalism to the black cat's voice. "Let us start with you, Serenity."

Serena made a face at being picked first, a goofy look, which got Molly and Selene to giggle despite the fact it looked a little forced, "Okay-  
okay, I'll go first." Today Serena was wearing a peach-colored blouse with short sleeves, a knee-length green cargo shorts, white knee socks and green mary jeans. She stood up and unclipped the jeweled broach from her top and held it over her head, "MOON HOLY POWER!"

It was just like before except Serena wasn't in a panic this time,  
adrenaline coursing through her veins, instead she could savor as her soul was filled with the Holy Spirit to overflowing, her senses revealing the world as God first created it and her body freed of shadows, the divinity of the release caused the petite girl to raise to her toes, arch her back and lift her face to the heavens.

"Amazing..." Molly breathed out, her green eyes glowing with the light of God coming from her transformed friend. If the redhead weren't sitting,  
her butt would have kissed the floor.

"Very good, Sailor Moon," Luna nodded slowly, her golden orbs showing approval.

Serena looked down her body, teenage energy in the way she posed, showing how much she loved the way her costume looked on her: the navy blue mini-  
skirt hugging her hips and rear, her crimson chest bow clinging to the curves covered by her virgin white blouse, her candy apple red knee boots encasing her strong thighs and feet, and her sailor collar shaped to the roundness of her young shoulders. Serena was so taken with the way she looked, she even took hold of the edge of her skirt at the sides of her thighs and did a little curtsy, getting some clapping from Molly along with several wide grins. Letting go, she asked, "What now?"

"Next we will see how Molly Eve will handle her disguise wand," Selene suggested, her crystal eyes showed she was curious about how well the redhead would do.

The humor fled from Molly's features, becoming very serious as she pulled out her disguise wand from her skirt pocket and stood up. Today the redhead was wearing a little Chinese number with a silky lightning blue shirt, black baggy pants with elastic at the ankles and heelless black shoes. When Serena first saw her come into the entertainment center, she had to bite her tongue to keep from calling her friend, Ranko. Molly looked nervously to her companions, saying, "Who should I transform into?"

"Sailor Moon," Luna supplied the answer, the black feline waited as Molly blinked with surprise as did Sailor Moon before she added, "The reason to do Sailor Moon is two-fold: one, since she is standing before you, Molly Eve, it should be easier for you to get it right the first time. The second reason is you are probably going to be helping Sailor Moon to cover her Serenity identity. There will be times when she either is unable to transform due to crowds or because the Fallen are watching her because they are suspicious. Either way, Molly Eve will help by appearing as Sailor Moon."

Now it was time for two set of eyes to pop wide, "What?" Molly and Sailor Moon leaned toward Luna, who face looked like it was set in stone, while Selene remained silent. Then the two girls looked at each other before they turned by to the moon cat, "Luna, I... I think I can act like Sailor Moon," Molly began, glancing at Sailor Moon, "but what if something happened and I had to fight as Sailor Moon?"

"You will be able to fight, Molly Eve," Luna stood up on all fours, a look of confidence on her feline face, "the Disguise Wand will give you all the powers and knowledge of Sailor Moon or whatever person you have transform yourself into," her confident look became a little serious,  
"although it is only temporary as I told you when I gave it to you."

Molly looked at the Disguise Pen, than at each of the others before smiled, "Okay, how do I activate it?"

"Hold it above your head and say, 'Holy Moon Transform Me Into..." Luna's tone on a ritualistic sound, "and include what you want to be transform into."

With ears forward Molly listened to Luna before she straightened and held the Disguise Pen above her head, spreading her feet, "HOLLY MOON TRANSFORM ME INTO SAILOR MOON!"

Sailor Moon's heart leapt into her throat when Molly's clothes burst from her body like colorful confetti and the light of the Holy Spirit drowned out most of the redhead's features... but not all. The odango blonde could see the pure joy in her friend's green eyes, the power of the feeling causing the girl to slowly spin upon her toes and move her hands along her glowing body. Flames radiate from petite superhero's cheeks at how beautiful her friend's nude body looked while she performed her dance, how her soul revel in God's grace. The heroine's lips part as slowly swaying body before her changed, the hair changing, the face changing, the body changing and then came the uniform, a perfect copy of Sailor Moon's clothes. The holy aura faded, colors returning and before the group stood another Sailor Moon, those baby blues blinking rapidly,  
soft panting from her ruby red lips.

Luna smiled in that cat way, "Well don... Molly Eve!"

Selene must have expected this. As soon as Molly's eyes rolled into the back of her head and her legs gave way, the moon lady was off the couch and effortlessly she caught the transformed Guardian in her pale arms,  
slowly sinking to the floor, her gown billowing out to give Molly a silky place to lay. Sailor Moon was only seconds behind Selene, not even thinking about the amount of energy it took Selene to take on solid form,  
her attention was fully on her friend as she knelt and took Molly's right hand between her soft hands, "Molly..."

Even Luna was kneeling on the floor once more in her humanoid form, her curly raven hair made her standout vividly with all the pale hair around her, with her right fingertips pressing to the jewel in the gold tiara.  
Those cute lips murmur softly and her polished nails glow softly followed by Molly's eyes moving under her closed eyelids, finally she groaned,  
"Owe... did someone get the number of that truck?"

It was so weird to Sailor Moon to hear her own voice speaking and it wasn't her talking, but it did make her look more closely at her transformed friend. Yes, she did look older as Sailor Moon, maybe in her thirties; the lankiness of a teenager was replaced with a look of full maturity. Serena also spotted details she missed the first time she transformed in the heat of battle, including the white forearm gloves with crimson elbow pads. Making sure her friend was all there, Sailor Moon leaned down to her copy, kissing the other Sailor Moon on the forehead, "Are you okay, Molly?"

"Err... my head... my brain feels like mush," Molly tried to open her eyes but she immediately shut them, "damn... my eyes hurt."

"It is the intake of information from the transformation, Lady Molly,"  
Selene continued to hold Molly's upper body on her folded legs and lap,  
"which have made your eyes supersensitive, but the effect will fade shortly once your brain organizes the data."

"Once you practice enough with your Disguise Wand, Molly Eve," Luna's hand gently ruffles Molly's white bangs, "the data intake will become painless."

"Hope so..." Molly blinked her now baby blues rapidly, "how long will I remember it?"

"As long as you use the form, Lady Molly," Selene replied tenderly, "the duration of the transformation is based on how active you are in it,  
approximately thirty to sixty minutes."

Molly moved her head slightly and her blinking slowed until she could keep her eyes open. She then looked at Sailor Moon, "So, Sere... Sailor Moon," a cupid smile on her lips, "how do I look?"

Sailor Moon grinned, "You look exactly like me, Sailor Moon," a twinkle in her baby blues.

A ripple of a giggle comes from Molly and she struggled to a sitting position, helped by Selene and Luna, "You look pretty good too, Sailor Moon."

"I know," Sailor Moon giggled as well, then she blinked and looked at Luna, "I didn't know how 'revealing' the transformation was," her eyebrows came down, "Why?"

"Serenity, God created man in his own image and that image is pure and noble," Luna put her hands on her hips, "there isn't anything wrong seeing it nude."

Remembering what Luna said about the Holy Bible and a few other things,  
she nodded and turned her attention back to Molly, "Feeling better,  
Molly?"

"Yeah," Sailor Moon stood and helped the other Sailor Moon to stand. Both looked the other over and both grinned, saying together, "We look like twins."

Luna cringed at hearing both of them, "I think I created a monster."

Selene's chime giggles filled the room as she stood up, "Now it is time for your first training session, Sailor Moon." Both Sailor Moon looked nervous while the moonlight lady turned to Luna, "Lady Luna, could you give Sailor Moon her mask."

"Mask?" Sailor Moon blinked and the watched as with a wave of her white-  
gloved hand, Molly produced a crimson domano mask and slipped it onto her nose. The action took Sailor Moon's full attention so she is startled a little when the raven-haired lady gave her the same type of mask, "Eh...  
thanks, Luna..." She turned it over in her hand, staring at it, "Why the mask? I didn't have it when I transformed the first time."

"The mask is part of your auxiliary equipment, Sailor Moon," Luna frowned at how Serena's face lightened up at the mention of auxiliary equipment,  
"since the Sailor Scouts have a glamour that changes their features enough to prevent the loss of public identities, a mask to hide their faces isn't necessary."

"Okay!" Serena put in on and posed a little, which got Molly to grin more while the original super-girl asked, "So what does it do?"

"Besides making us look good wearing it," Molly added with a grin.

"Along with enhanced vision," Luna trying to be matter-of-fact, "each Sailor Scout will be able to see what other Sailor Scouts are seeing."

"Cool!" white eyebrows touch the horned moon upon Serena's brow.

"I agree," Molly nodded, "it'll make it easier for the Sailor Scouts to help each other."

"More so once Sailor Mercury becomes active," Selene added as she sat back down on the couch, "part of her equipment is an advanced visor instead of a mask along with a portable supercomputer."

Serena almost burst out in laughter at the puzzled look on Molly's face,  
the play of emotions on a face like her own tickling her funny bone more than her face reflected in a mirror, "I think the reason Sailor Mercury has the visor and supercomputer is the Greek God Hermes, called Mercury by the Romans. Correct?"

"Very true although not the way you think it is," Luna smiled approvingly at Serena's insight, "many of the myths, legends and folktales of the gods is based on the Sailor Scouts of the Sky Kingdoms so many of the areas and powers of these gods were modeled on them."

"Interesting," Molly nodded to Selene before she turned to Luna, "Next?"

"Alright, Molly Eve," Luna acknowledging the Sailor Moon copy shift of the discussion back to the original subject, "both you and Serena take on a battle stance, giving each of you plenty of room," her cat-like eyes shift to Selene, "then Selene will activate a shooting gallery so you can practice your Holy Tiara Attack."

"Holy Tiara Attack?" both Sailor Moons blurt it out, looked at each other and giggled with fingers touching their chins.

Luna shook her head and touched her forehead, "Give me strength, God."  
Selene's bashful glee got a look from the spirit guide before the parttime cat cleared her throat, "Yes, Holy Tiara Attack, it is your level one attack, Sailor Moon."

"Level one attack?" this time Serena spoke by herself, "like in Final Fantasy games?"

"If that helps you, yes, Sailor Moon," Luna was finding Serena pop culture knowledge more helpful than she originally thought, "each of the Sailor Scouts have levels of attacks, which they can access as they gain experience and skill with their powers. Some will even have abilities due to their biological nature."

Something went off in the back of Serena's mind, something about the last part of Luna's words reminded her of Ami, but she wasn't sure what,  
"Okay." She thought for a moment and with an amount of uncertainty she took up her battle stance, which Molly copied. She jumped a little when everything around her, except for Molly blurred, drained of color before snapping back into focus.

"Wow...did we just go into the Matrix?" Molly asked.

Serena was speechless, what was in front of her was some kind of high-  
tech shooting gallery but it was what else was now around them. It was simply gorgeous. The walls weren't just simply marble or stucco, not by a long shot. Every inch, including the ceiling, was covered by murals. For some reason the one on the ceiling gripped Serena's attention. In the left corner stood a nude angel with an uplifted sword with its back to a luscious grove of trees, brushes and flowing water. Two figures wearing only fig leaves kneeling on barren ground in the center. Black-feathered winged humanoids flooding the right corner with swords of black flames and whips that crackle with lightning. Swirling around the kneeling man and woman there were white-feathered winged girls, each as nude as the rest of the figures of the mural, their eyes blaze with compassion and a couple of them touching the pleading man and woman with sympathy. Above all of them was the Instrument of Peace, upturned faces alit by its holy light, downturn faces cloak in darkness.

"Selene... the ceiling..." Molly spoke again.

"The first triumph of the Instrument of Peace," Selene's voice echoed in the two Sailor Moons' ears, "those girls surrounding Adam and Eve are the first manifestation of the Sailor Scouts," respect was her tenor, "its holy illumination gave them birth."

Insight, just like the dream Serena had before, the dream when she accepted the Instrument of Peace into her body, the depiction emptied her of all doubt while moon queen's words fill her, "My children..."

Molly's face mirrored Serena's face, the shock of revelation there,  
followed upon its heels by Luna's voice, "Yes, Sailor Moon, when you accepted the Instrument of Peace into your bosom, the Sailor Scouts became your children."

It took superhuman effort for Serena to take her gaze from the ceiling,  
her eyes dazzlingly scanning the wall murals and finding they were also about the Sailor Scouts, but this time they wore the school girl uniforms like they had stepped out of some Japanese anime or the world of Harry Potter . She didn't miss the figure wearing the Sailor Moon uniform nor did she miss the figure's hairstyle, the twin buns and pigtails, but she decided not to let it distract her. The murals were more depictions of combat, the way the Sailor Scouts' bodies were posed and the expressions upon their faces suggested these were images of victories. Finally her head tilted down, her heartbeats rapping in her ears as she saw the floor was beautifully tiled with the astrological symbols of the Sailor Scouts,  
each done in the cardinal colors of the rainbow .

"Selene... Luna... is this why the people of Pacifica hated the Sky Kingdoms," once more Molly gave voice to what Serena was thinking, maybe "they believed the Instrument of Peace and the Sailor Scouts abandoned them?"

The sigh came from Selene, "Not all of them, Lady Molly, but enough did believe just that, and they became vulnerable to the influence of the Fallen."

"A boil of doubt festering and spreading its poison in the body until the corruption becomes the body," Luna's words made Serena's heart hurt.

Was this how a Jew, a descendant of Abraham, felt when he or she heard a Christian declare Jesus Christ was the only path to God? Was this how a Muslim felt when he or she heard a Christian declare Mohammed was a fake prophet? Did the person want to strike out to defend their beliefs? To show God was on their side? To take back what was taken, to destroy the Sky Kingdoms? Was this how the Fallen work? Was this what made the Fallen evil?

"Lady Serenity, are you ready to continue?" Selene asked gently, "I know this must be very heady for you."

"Yes... I..." she forced her eyes and mind upon the shooting gallery in front of her and Molly, flashing a weak smile to her friend, "I'm ready to learn my Holy Tiara Attack."

The targets of the gallery were simple yet complex, three-dimensional images outlined in white light with red dots on the foreheads, necks,  
chests, abdomens and groins. There were also green dots upon shoulders,  
elbows and knees while there are yellow dots on the hands and feet. "We are starting with something simple here, Sailor Moon, Molly Eve," Luna nodded her head to the display, "to gauge your eye-hand coordination as well as judge what is your accuracy with the attack and improve it." The guardian waited for the two blondes to nod their agreement before she continued, "Now concentrate, find the spiritual center of your the Holy Spirit in your soul awakening as you reach up with your right hand, take hold and remove the tiara from your forehead."

Serena felt it, the electricity, power in-tuned with her, her blue eyes saucer-size at the transforming of the tiara in her right hand into a disc of energy floating millimeters above her fingertips. "Don't let the moment overwhelm you, ladies, concentrate" Luna's words sharpen Serena's focus, "look at the target, aim at it as you cock your arm for a underarm throw," a quick glance from the corner of her eye showed Molly following the commands, "pull back as far as you can and then release, shouting,  
'Holy Tiara Attack'."

"HOLY TIARA ATTACK!"

She could feel it, a bowstring release running out of her body, down her arm and out of her outstretched hand. Excitement was only followed by pouting look at Serenity hitting her target but missing only a yellow dot of the left hand , "Shi..." a groan cut her off and she bare had time to turn to see Molly dropping to her knees, "Molly!"

"I'm... I'm okay..." Serena and Luna were at each side of the faux Sailor Moon,  
holding her by the elbows, "feeling... so drained... dizzy..." the skin an unhealthy white, eyelids droopy, "just need... to rest."

"Power down, Lady Molly," Selene spoke softly, her moon-glow eyes holding Molly's glassy orbs, "relax your mind, let go of the Holy Spirit as you would a butterfly."

"Bullseye..." A spent sigh from Molly, her magical girl body melting back in the mortal form, which sagged into Serena's arms, the blonde's neck could feel how clammy the redhead's face was.

"Bull's-eye?" Serena blinked first at Molly before shifting to Luna, "Bull's-  
eye." The guardian smirked and motioned at the shooting gallery. Looking, the petite heroine pouted at the blinking red dot on the chest of Molly's target,  
"Beginner's luck."  
********

Location: Heaven's Crown Center.

The weekend was a whirlwind of activity for Serena and Molly. At no time did they get a chance to go the Sailor Scouts headquarter for more practice of the Holy Tiara Attack or more information from Selene. After getting home Friday evening, a still weak Molly ate dinner and went to bed without complaint or even making an attempt to stay up and discuss things with Serena or Luna. Feeling the need for Molly to be with her,  
Serena put off any magical girl brainstorming until later. Of course later came too quickly, their parents decided a family outing to the Chicago Zoo was in the cards, which ate up most of the extra time before the two teenagers reported for their first day of work at Heaven's Crown Center. Serena wasn't sure about Molly, but the blonde was higher than a kite about her job, full of adolescent energy at learning everything Andrew and Elizabeth taught her. Of course mistakes and accidents did happen, but by the time their shift ended early Saturday evening, the petite girl was still imitating the Energizer Bunny, much to her redheaded friend's amusement. After work Molly got a chance to practice with the Disguise Pen but following Luna's advice, she didn't try to copy Sailor Moon and stayed with simple alterations to her physical body: skin tone, hair color, eye color etc... Sunday wasn't as excitable as the previous day but still full of activity. First form them was church, then a Sunday dinner followed by work at Heaven's Crown Center.

Serena banged open the door of the employee's entrance and literally hopped out of the opening with all the impatience of youth, "Let's get home, Molly, so we can talk..." she froze in the doorway.

"What Serena?" Molly bumped into her friend's back, "Why you blocking..." the redhead wiggled around the odango blonde, "the exit..." her green eyes catch what her friend's baby blues did, "Oh, Melvin..." hearts in the redhead's voice.

Not in a million years would Serena think of Melvin as a biker, but here was Molly's boyfriend, leaning against, "Whoa, this isn't a Harley?"  
Serena took a couple of steps toward the kid in a red-white-and-blue crash suit.

"Nope, it's a 1948 Indian Chief," Melvin pushed off the parked motorcycle so he could meet Molly in a hug, "with a 74-inch V-twin side-valve, three-speed transmission, sprung frame, front end girder, 16-inch wheels, drum brakes, six-  
volt battery and valance fenders."

"You can make a geek into a biker," Molly grinned at Melvin as she lightly kissed his chin, "but you can't take the geek out of the biker."

Melvin blushed at the greeting, the crimson strengthening at Serena's giggle, "Aww... no fair..." he stuttered but continued to hold Molly, "I wanted to make up for not being here yesterday and I figured Serena might like to see Grandpa's bike."

"Family heirloom?" Serena's closer look revealed a classic motorcycle kept in perfect condition, including the DuPont paint job, a combination of brickyard red and reddish-orange. Then she caught sight of something more, "Oh, Cool! A sidecar!"

Molly giggled a little more, "Yes and its very comfy," she slipped from Melvin's arms as the two turned to their blonde friend, "Melvin has a driver's permit for it so it's all legit."

"Nice..." Serena stroked the front fender before she blinked at the two bags in the sidecar seat, "Oh, what are those?"

"Crash suits for you and Molly, Serena," Melvin retrieved them and held one out to both, "both are in bright pink."

Serena did several bunny hops, "Great!" clapping her hands before taking the bag, "Boy am I glad our uniforms are pants and tight vests."

"I thought it was because the tight uniform made your body sexier, Serena," Molly held up her crush suit and shook it out.

Serena giggled, the late dusk of the evening barely showing her blush, "I got to have something to make up for being so petite." She looked at the hot pink crash suit, blinking, "Melvin, this suit looks like something out of an anime show."

"The original Bubblegum Crisis actually," Melvin acknowledged while Molly unzipped the suit, "I ordered them online for Molly but you shouldn't have any trouble wearing them."

"So you are an otaku like me?" Serena unzipped her suit, "This does look like the crash suit Nene wore," her twin ponytails swirl around her as she wiggles her way into it.

"Otaku?" Melvin helped Molly into her heavily-padded suit, "Oh, you mean a fan of anime," he shook his head slightly, "nope, I liked Bubblegum Crisis and its remake."

"Melvin is a motor-head, Serena," the brown-haired boy blushes as the redhead slipped her arms into the sleeves, "what with his father once being a motorcycle cop, as was his grandfather."

Picking up the helmet, Serena noticed it looked like the helmets from that particular show, "Does that mean you are going to go into the family business, Melvin?"

"I'm not sure," he zipped up Molly's suit for her, "my parents and Granddaddy want me to go to Northwestern, get a degree and make a career for myself," he watches Molly pick up her helmet and slip it over her red hair, "yet the phase,  
'to serve and to protect', does mean a lot to me." Then a frown appeared on his face, "Plus I have some bad news, Molly, Dad and Mom told me your family won't be able to move back into your home for probably another week or two."

"Why?" The blonde girl pulled the pink sleeves down her slim arms.

"Since the guy who attacked Molly died in the hospital," Melvin gave Molly her helmet, "the home has been upgraded to a homicide scene."

Serena knew her eyes reflect her dark despair over the man's death, "It's okay, Melvin," she put up a happy smile front, "I'm sure Molly's family can stay at my home as long as they want to," then she ups the ante, "and I'll even let you two neck in my bedroom."

Blazes of scarlet painted both of Serena friends' faces, Molly trying to hide her face while Melvin laughed nervously, saying, "Please...  
Serena... we haven't gone that far!"

"If you say so, Stud," Serena teased more, "I'm sure Molly wants more sugar on her lips," the blonde got into the sidecar and buckled in.

"Serena!" Mortification was plain in Molly's voice but then she broke into giggles, "Maybe..." Serena couldn't miss the gentle squeezing of Melvin's hand by his girlfriend.

"We better get going before it gets any later," a husky sound to Melvin's voice,  
letting go of Molly's hand and getting onto the motorcycle, followed by the redhead getting behind him.

The ride home gave Serena time to watch how Molly snuggled against Melvin and how her hands held his waist. Clearly the two have ridden together on the Indian without the sidecar and even with the helmet buttoned down,  
the petite blonde couldn't miss the blissful expression on her friend's soft lips. It was a short ride, not even forty minutes with Melvin staying at the speed limit. During the ride Serena thought about what Melvin told her. A homicide scene, it would mean the police now look at Sailor Moon as a dangerous vigilante, something she hadn't expected but now realized she was na ve about it. After everything Luna and Selene has told her, has shown her, this was a war between the Sailor Scouts and the Fallen with the future of mankind held in the balance, which would mean people were going to die, some of them innocent victims, some of them not so innocent.

Once the threesome reached the Hope residence, Serena was the first out of the gate, bouncing out of the sidecar, "I'll go ahead and do a little blocking to give you two sometime together."

"Wait!" Serena dropped her helmet in the sidecar, blinking at Melvin's cry.  
Twisting around on the motorcycle seat with Molly still tight against his back,  
"Serena, you have a black cat with a moon on her head?"

"Luna?" Molly turned around on the machine, her arms around Melvin, "Yeah I do,  
how do you know and why?"

"I asked Molly this morning over the cell phone if she knew who owned a cat like that," Molly nodded to acknowledge Melvin's words, "I was curious because I've been seeing the black cat all over town the last few days."

"Oh? Where?" Only the darkness of the night kept Melvin from seeing the curiosity in Serena's eyes.

"Over at the library at Northwestern and the campus church at the Saint Mary's School for Proper Ladies," Molly took her helmet off, dropping it into the sidecar, "I wanted to warn you about your cat wandering so was a little amusing seeing the cat dropping from the top of a book shelf to land on Ami's shoulder."

"What was Ami's reaction?" Serena blinked at this news.

"Positive, actually," Melvin's expression becoming a little distracted from having Molly snuggle against him, "after getting over the surprise, our local Goth girl petted, chatted softly and even fed part of her lunch to your cat."

Serena stored away this information before asking, "What about over at the church."

"Didn't see anything..." Melvin words fade when Molly popped his chin strap and pulled off her boyfriend's helmet.

"I'll remember to tell mother to make sure Luna doesn't get outside anymore,"  
Serena grinned as she back away from the lovebirds, "but now I will give you two some kissing space." Serena jumped the fence without waiting for a farewell and didn't stop her retreat until she reached the welcome mat. Serena didn't miss her mother peeking out of the window for a moment, causing the petite girl to sigh with relief when her parent pulled back from the window. Her redheaded roommate didn't join her until after ten minutes, with the blonde asking, "Feeling better?"

"Much better..." the green mirrors to Molly's soul shined brightly, "Why do you ask?"

"After the Disguise Pen sucked you dry like some vamp in a cheap horror flick,"  
Serena fished out her key to the door, "I was hoping Melvin could recharge your battery."

"Oh, he did," a purring tenor was in Molly's voice.

"Oh..." Serena giggled as the door's lock clicked open, "does that mean you're glad the suit's padding is protecting your honor?"

"Serena!" Molly giggled back, blushing and jostled her friend through the front entrance, where both saw their mothers, Ilene and Mary, both amused at the display of affection between their daughters, "Oh, hi Mom... umm... Ilene."

"You know my husband, Ken, wouldn't be very calm if he saw our daughter having a kissing session in front of our house," Ilene's arms were crossed over her chest but her smile was sweet.

"I think Morgan accepts it because he knows Melvin's parents," Mary was close to laughing at the look her daughter was giving her, "and their son knows where the line is drawn in the sand."

Molly rolled her eyes and began to drag Serena toward the stairs, "Come on, Serena, before I give our moms anymore target practice." That brought the laughter from both mothers, "Jesus..."

Stumble-footing behind her redheaded friend, Serena was having a hard time not busting a gut, "See you in the morning, Mom, Mary," she waved back.

"Goodnight, dear. Goodnight darling."

Once both were out of their pink crash suits and work clothes, they made a beeline for the bathroom for evening baths, with Luna in tow, "So anything happen at work?" the black cat asked once they bathroom door was closed.

"Nope," but before Serena could add more, she was wrapped in the gentle embrace of her taller friend from behind.

"I saw the pain in your eyes, Serena," even wearing their bathrobes, Serena could feel her friend's youthful body, "the way Melvin spoke of my home as a death scene."

The darkness... the grief... the forgiveness... Serena could feel the barely healed wound on her heart. Sister Raye gave her penance, Molly gave her support, affection, "Thank you... Molly..." the blonde reaches behind her, gently stroking her friend's wavy curls.

"No, thank you, Serena," a tender squeeze before Molly released her friend,  
"You... Sailor Moon... saved me," Serena turned to face the other teenager, "and now we live like sisters."

Serena blushed deeply at Molly's open display of affection, "We are all brothers and sisters..." she rubbed the tears from her eyes before they could fall, "we all come from the womb of Eve."

Molly nodded at Serena before her green gaze switch to Luna, "Oh, Luna,  
Melvin said he saw you over at the university library and at the Church of Saint Mary."

The look on Luna's face showed the guardian approved of Molly's support of Serena, "I was carrying out my mission of checking out Ami and Raye,  
Molly Eve," the black cat jumped onto the dirty clothes hamper, "to see if either one of them are sleeper Sailor Scouts."

"Yeah, Melvin saw you at the library, Luna," Molly was doing the same thing Serena was doing , saying, "He even saw you doing your attack from above on Ami's head."

Serena giggled as she got a sponge, squeezing the bottle of soap while Luna rolled her cat eyes, "I had to get close to Ami to make certain,"  
Molly sat on the stool and began to wash herself, "I was getting a lot of feedback from the girl."

"Feedback?" Serena paused with her sponge pressed between her developing breasts,  
"Was it because Ami has a genetic disease... eh... what she called..." she fought to get the word out, "vitiligo?"

Luna blinked at Serena's words, "So Ami does know she is different from others?"

"Yes, Luna, for as long as I've known Ami," Molly worked her own soapy sponge over her soft stomach, "she has done everything to increase her difference from others."

"I wonder why?" Luna sounds thoughtful, licking one paw.

"Ami told me she was always treated differently by others," Serena vigorously worked the sponge over her trim arms, "even going so far as saying she never had anyone ask her to be her friend."

Molly shared a gaze with Serena before nodding, "It's true, Melvin and I sort of adopted Ami as a friend," going back to scrubbing her coltish hips, "we never asked her and at times Ami didn't act like a friend."

"Like the volcano thing?" Serena grinned as she began to work her own legs.

Molly giggled, nodding, "Yeah, Ami has a sneaky side to her as you probably know by now," Serena nodded too before she dumped a bucket of cold water on herself, letting out a shout at the quick freeze of her body. Molly grinned wider, finishing her feet, "Luna, you make it sound like Ami's difference is something more."

"It is, Molly Eve," Luna watched Serena begin to wash her long blonde hair,  
"Ami's genetic code tells me which Sailor Scout she is."

"Selene told us each of the human host has to change to contain the Sailor Scout divine power." Molly started on washing her own hair, "So what you are saying,  
Luna, is the genetic differences from when the Sailor Scouts were a part of the Sky Kingdoms has been passed on?"

"Yes but Ami's genetic fingerprint is even more unique," Luna pulled her head back as a few drops of water reached her whiskers from Serena dumping another bucket of cold water to wash her hair clear, "if she is the Sailor Scout I think she is."

"Which Sailor Scout do you think she is?" Serena asked as Molly washed the shampoo from her red hair.

"Sailor Mercury."  
********

Location: Levy Center.

Monday started out nice and calm for Serena and Molly. This was the first day for Molly's return to school. It was also the date for the first meeting of the Juuban Go Club at the Levy Center. As beginning of a school week, it did start out fortuitous. Thanks to Molly both girls got to breakfast on time as well as making sure their homework was in their backpacks. Both even decided to have a little fun by wearing the same type of outfits for school: pale pea green blouse with lemon yellow vest and matching knee-length skirt, dark green ankle socks and neon pink moon-shoes; only their hairstyles were different, Serena with her buns-  
and-tails while Molly has a forest green hair bow. Once the pair reached school and all of Molly's friends welcomed her back, things went smoothly until lunchtime when Lita told her friend she wouldn't be able to make it to the first meeting of the Go Club, due to her prior commitment to choir practice at her church. Not having her tall brunette friend at the meeting did disappoint Serena, but she was still a bundle of energy at trying to get everything ready with help from Ami and Mister Takai. Even Alex took a moment to make sure where she and her groupies would need to be after school, much to odango blonde's delight.

The Levy Center was located at the cross-streets of Dodge Avenue and Mulford Steet, in the south-east corner of James Park, where the city's animal shelter is located on the park's north-west corner. It was clear by the building's design that it was built sometime after World War II,  
named after a war hero who came home and became a political and social bigwig in this sleepy college town and suburb of Chicago. The building offered two stories, with several glass doors for the front entry into the wide gallery. Two ornate oak staircases took people to the second story where balcony seats set at the back and balcony boxes along the side. Clearly at one time this place was used as a theater but was later converted into a multipurpose room with most of the first floor seating removed to expand usage area. Besides the emergency exits for the second floor, there were two more fine-crafted staircases which took people to the several small rooms used for group meetings and office space.

Serena walked through the entrance of the low brick wall surrounding the grounds of the Levy Center with Molly in tow, saying, "Ami and Alex are already here and set up everything."

Molly nodded slowly, having spotted all of the posters located on telephone poles, mail boxes and etc...declaring the use of the main room at the Levy Center for the Juuban Go Club, "I still find it a miracle you were able to get Ami and Alex to work together after the history between them."

"I had to do a lot of puppy-eyes to get them to agree," Serena looked about the parking lot located to the side of the building, "and Alex must've really liked my kiss."

"Kiss?" green eyes go wide before Molly giggled, "So the twins got their kissing game turned on them?"

"Yep!" Serena couldn't keep from blushing at how it felt to have Alex's lips against hers. She tried to turn her thoughts to something else, "I'm just glad Ami let go of her grudge against Alex."

"Ami did get her pound of flesh already from Gilbert," Molly noticed several teenage girls standing in some groups just inside the entrance, "so it was in Alex's court to make the first move."

Serena was about to talk more but when she entered the building, several of the girls came to her and began to ask her questions about the Go Club. The odango blonde at first was caught off-guard by all the teenage horde's attention, but then she shifted gears and politely told everyone to follow her into the main room. The girls had neutral expressions as they followed Serena and Molly through the swinging doors and into the main room, where they found twenty tables and at least a couple of dozen folded-out chairs along with several set of cheap Go sets. There was also a seventy-inch projection screen along with a DVD player and speakers in front of the layout, which was where Ami was standing. It took a moment to spot Alex, who was moving slowly between different groups of girls with an easy smile on her lips. There was also Alex's groupies with stick-on badges on their chests, Go Club Organizers, who where helping the continuous stream of girls coming into the huge room, giving them little pamphlets and where to sit.

For a moment Serena was stunned by the number of girls coming in and sitting down, some of them with bored expressions, clearly showing they were here just to see what was going on, but there were many here with looks of eager excitement. A quick head count of Alex's groupies showed there were twelve of them , hopefully willing to learn the game as well.

"Wow..." Molly whispered to Serena as the two headed for Ami, "There must be around twenty to thirty girls here."

Serena nodded but held her tongue until she was with Ami, "Hi, Ami," a little smirk appearing on her lips, "I'll bet you didn't think this would happen, right?"

"Actually I did," those facial features of the pale girl not changing but her voice had a subtle glee to it, "unlike the other clubs at the school, there isn't one where girls, who aren't involved in sports, to come and compete and bond together."

"Oh, what about Alex?" Molly countered, picking up one of the pamphlets from a table.

"Alex is the other reason for girls to come," Ami glanced at the tall blonde making her way to where the trio stood, "many girls are still trying to figure out their sexual orientation and would find an all girls club a place where they can relax and be themselves."

"Eh... okay," Serena sweated a little at this hint of lesbianism from her pale friend. When Alex joined them, the odango blonde grinned, "Thank you for helping us organizing this club, Alex."

"My pleasure, kitten," Alex placed her hands upon her blue-jean covered hips, her strong legs covered by patch-riddled leggings , "besides I couldn't pass up the opportunity of being in the same room with so many kissable cuties,"  
she flashed her wonderful white teeth and winked at them.

Ami rolled her eyes, Serena and Molly giggled, blushing, only for the redhead to get in the first words, "Oh... who brought in all the movie equipment?"

"I did," Ami keeping her voice neutral, "it will help in teaching the basics to our members," the girl wearing a rich purple and night blue dress with light pink stockings and violet tresses around her knees and elbows, "along with these," she moves over to the table, reached into a box and pulled out a single DVD case.

"Hikaru No Go!" Several of the girls in the huge room reacted to Serena's joyful sound, her hand snatching up the DVD case those pale, dark-dark purple painted fingernails, a mysterious expression on Ami's black-purple lips, "So you are going to use episodes of this cool series as a teaching aide?"

Ami retrieved the item from Serena, "Yes, it should help in showing Go is an enjoyable game."

"Great idea!" Serena gushed while Molly touched her own lips to hide the small smile at the blonde's gaiety.

Serena did notice Alex scanning the crowd, the petite blonde turning and noting the sports-girl's groupies nodding in return, then Alex said,  
"Okay, everyone is in and seated, Serena," her glittering blue eyes come to Serena, "it's your show now."

Unease rippled through Serena at how much attention was focused on her,  
but then Molly squeezed her upper arm, saying, "You can do it, Serena."

"Thanks, Molly," Serena looked at Ami, "Ami?"

"I'm not much of a social speaker, Serena," a cool tone from Ami, "and your sunny and energetic personality wins more winning then my persona."

"Oh..." Concern etched on Serena's face at Ami's harsh judgment of her own social skills, but quickly Serena grinned and tenderly held one of Ami's hands, "I'll do my best, Ami," then looked at Molly and Alex, "everyone."

Serena let go of Ami's hand and took a moment to concentrate before she did her bouncy walk to the main table in front of the group and picked up a wireless microphone, waving to the group, "Hi-Hi! I'm Serenity Hope but you can call me Serena!" She flashed her million volt smile and waved to everyone, "I'm the vice-president of the Go Club and it's my duty to introduce you to the fun of the game of Go!"

Those baby blues of Serena scanned the crowd, noticing how several of the girls were already responding to her words, before she went into the main part of her pitch, "I'm glad you have decided to come and see if an all-  
girls Go Club would be something you would like to join," she waves her empty hand at the Go sets on the tables, "Go is a very old game, dating back further than chess but it is much more flexible game and is played internationally. So if you think this club is only here for fun, think again. There will be competitions and contests against other Go clubs as well as using the internet to compete against other Go players in other nations." There was a change in the expressions of the audience, Serena could see several of them straightening, many bored expression turning to interest, "Before I do any further, our president, Ami Shabon, will show you the first couple of episodes of an anime series that uses Go as a key element of the plot, including many of the basic concepts and moves," she turns to her pale colleague, "Ami?"

With a proper gait Ami walked over to Serena and accepted the microphone,  
leaving Serena to step away, "Good day, I will be showing you Hikaru No Go. While it is in Japanese, there are English subtitles so please pay attention to the screen."

As Ami went over to the DVD player to start the teaching aid, one of the girls near the edge of the crowd stood and walked to the closest organizer, this being Serena, "Serena?" Her voice a little nervous, her brown eyes shy, "Can you tell me where the girls bathroom is?"

A blank expression was Serena first reaction to the brown-haired girl's question, "Oh... eh..." the petite blonde spotted a partial of a bathroom sign on a door, "This way... eh..."

"Galya."

"Okay, Galya," Serena turned and led the tanned-girl toward the bathroom, "Here you go," she stood next to the entrance of the hallway to the bathroom.

"Thank you," Galya said before hurrying towards the restroom.

From this angle Serena could still see the anime on the projection screen and the reactions from the seated teenagers, seeing many more becoming interested in the subject matter. Glancing up she could see the ceiling went all the way to the building's roof, the top covered by several layers of curved glass held in place by steel beams. She also noticed the third story conference and office rooms had glass walls facing the main room so anyone could see what was happening down below... "Who?"

"What is it, kitten?"

Startled by Alex sudden appearance next to her, Serena turned fast to face the tall blonde, "Someone is up..."

First came the muffled explosion, second came the scream and third came the two blondes turning in the direction both occurrences came from, the girl's bathroom. "Stay here!" Alex shouted as she bolted for the bathroom with another blonde hot on her heels. Only after going a couple of feet inside Serena froze, her eyes like saucers at the sight of Galya shivering upon the bathroom floor and a pillar of fire shooting out of one of the bathroom's trashcans.

"Galya!" Serena slid to a kneeling stop next to the crying girl while Alex pulled off her shirt, buttons flying, and after dowsing it in water from a basin she threw it over the flaming trashcan, smothering the fire. The smell of burnt flesh, the skin melted upon Galya's hand, her body writhing in pain, "Don't worry, Galya," Serena tried hard to be reassuring, "me and Alex, we're get you to the hospital."

"Guarantee," Alex voice was calm, the tomboy kneeling and with Serena's help,  
scooped up Galya, "next stop, Saint Francis Hospital."

Serena couldn't take her eyes off the charred hand Galya tried to hold.  
Serena opened the bathroom door, shouting as Alex went by her, "Anyone with a cellphone, call 911! Galya is hurt bad!"

The reaction was immediate, several of the girls look confused but Ami;  
she was pulling out her cellphone as was Molly abet more slowly. Serena noticed some girls heading for the exits; her insides tighten at the sight of trashcans next to each of the doors, "No! Don't use the exits!"

It wasn't enough. Those leaving froze just far enough from the exits to avoid the jetting towers of flame erupting from the tops of each of the trashcans. Shouts of surprise and gasps were drown-out by the thundering sounds of whatever was producing the flames. The odango blonde was just able to hear Molly yelling, "I can't get through, something is wrong with my cellphone!" Serena's gut knotted more when Ami nodded to her. Her baby blues scanned the room, saw girls clumping as they tried to get as far away from the fiery gushers, but it wouldn't last as Serena saw the walls around the hellish geysers turning black .

"WE GOT TO GET OUT!" More than a few voices were shouting this. Serena glanced at Alex, the buzz-cut blonde arms occupied by the trembling Galya, her attention pulled by Molly reaching where the odongo blonde stood, whispering against Serena's ear, "Sailor Moon."

A magic phase.

A magic door opened in Serena's mind, the growing panic disconnecting from her psyche, "Thanks..." Molly smiled at Serena just before the odango blonde turned and ran from her.

"Serena!" It was Alex, making Serena smile, probably thinking her fellow blonde had lost her marbles.

Cool air hit Serena face at entering the girls bathroom, she hoping there was only one booby-trap here, but the temperature difference between the auditorium and the bathroom told her things were going to get worse very fast, the white cross on her broach glittering in her hand.

"MOON HOLY POWER."

The Tree.

The Lamb.

The Garden.

If there was one reason for Serena to become Sailor Moon, this was it.  
This feeling, the sensation of every inch of her being harmonizing with the Holy Spirit, her senses open to the divine world, the shades of gray gone. Once more she had to grab out for support, finding the cool ceramic tiles of the washbasin. Her eyes focused and found a face in the mirror looking at her, one with a crimson domino mask with bright blue eyes,  
pink skin vibrate with color, red lips perfectly made and her moon white bangs ripple with the glow of a crescent moon, its horns pointing upward,  
before it faded into her ruby-crested gold tiara.

"I got to get going..." Sailor Moon stumbled out of the room and found Hell-on-  
Earth. Girls were screaming, trying to get their cellphones to work, eyes full of tears and not from just their emotions. The superheroine caught the smell of chemicals in the air and a concentrated look at the walls closest to the flaming trashcans told her everything. "EVERYONE! Get down on the floor and cover your mouth and nose with handkerchiefs or anything!"

Sailor Moon jumped a little at the volume of her words, just realizing her odango hairpins had acted as loudspeakers. One result it caused every girl in the room to turn to the blonde, their eyes showing disbelief.

"You heard Sailor Moon," Thank God for Molly, "everyone on the floor and cover your face," not as loud as Sailor Moon, it didn't need to be with only the noise of the fire to deal with.

Still some were slow to act until, "Get down!" Alex added her two cents as she lay on the floor, taking out an emerald green handkerchief and pressing it to Galya's nose and mouth.

The automated fire sprinkler system should have kicked in by now, Sailor Moon knew it, but what got her attention was the shadowy figure she saw earlier was still there, watching the drama down below, "Time for a little frisbee action."

Despite her words, the blonde's stomach was doing flip-flops and she was more than a little scared, not for her life or harm to herself, it was the gut wrenching dread of letting her friends down, of fumbling her hold on the tiara, of stumble-mouthing her attack words or just missing her target by a country mile.

"Holy Tiara Attack!"

The surge of power, it was nothing like when she and Molly had practiced,  
it rattled her brain like a gong, made her feel out-of-control of her throw. She stared at the spinning, whirling disc of gold, swearing she saw it wobble, saw it curve in flight, "Go... go... GO!" She jumped in the air and pumped her fist when her tiara ruptured the glass wall into a thousand pieces, the shadowy figure disappearing at the same time.

"Sailor... Moon... the sprinklers..." Cold ice hit Sailor Moon at hearing the ragged coughing mixed into Molly's words.

"On it!" the odongo heroine acknowledged, noticing the chemical smell getting stronger, a backward glace showing her that everyone was huddling together on the floor, except for Ami, she was kneeling on the floor, clutching herself so tight that her head was almost touching her knees. Something was wrong with Ami, Sailor Moon could sense it.

"Hurry!"

The cry from one of the other girls put Sailor Moon into action, "Can't take the low road so..." her red boots clack on the floor, quickly building up her speed and she could feel her body tensing up before she jumped up, her arms reaching for the second tier of seating, "Yes...  
yes... YES!" Grab and pulling, in one action she was crouching on the brass railing, her leg muscles tight as cords, before she leaped straight up, throwing one arm up and reaching as far and she could. Her fingers clinched the edge of the broken window, glass crunching under her gloved hand and with strength she didn't know she had, she was able to vault into the toothy opening, "Sailor Moon is here to PUNISH YOU!"

"I got news for you, Instrument of Peace," The shadowy figure turned out to be a man, wearing what looked like a security uniform, his middle-age face covered with bleeding cuts with slivers of glass in them, his right hand holding a small black box with a button, "punishment is handed out in Hell."

Sailor Moon froze, her baby blues wide, her mind desperately searching for a solution, her gaze searching the room, realizing she was in the center's security room, the walls full of camera and control boards,  
keyboards, mice and LCD dials, "You don't have to kill them!"

"Kill..." his eyes, there looked to be something going on behind them, causing Sailor Moon to remember what Luna told her about the Fallen.

"No, you don't need to," her eyes continue to search for an option, "I'm right here at your mercy."

"Instrument of Peace..." he twitched and looked away from Sailor Moon, but then he jerked, his body going rigid as a dog does by its leash, "sheep slaughtered for the sacrifice," he holds the control device high over his head. The petite heroine could feel icy freezing eat at her mind, struggling to come up with an idea when her eyes zeroed in on a small four-legged critter of black fur creeping, stalking behind the man, the door into the room jarred open.

A scream.

A rolling wave of cold slammed into Sailor Moon's back just seconds after she heard the scream, causing her to stumble forward, the same impact sending the man to one knee, "Wha..." he mumbled, then a scream of his own as Luna locked hour set of claws to his bare hand and her feline teeth into his trigger thumb.

Everything was jerking into the Twilight Zone for red-white-and-blue Sailor Scout, sensations piling on sensations. The man dropping the device, Sailor Moon twisting to look over her shoulder, the ring of fire transformed into a ring of blue ice and the walls along with the steel doors layered in ice. She also saw Ami, the Goth girl's head now flipped up and her arms slack around her. There was no doubt in the blonde heroine's mind, the scream and the power came from Ami, the icy holy light burning from the pale girl's forehead, the horned circle and cross symbol of Mercury there.

"Come on everyone, now's our chance!" Alex, Sailor Moon saw the tomboy roll to her feet, still holding Galya. A dam of passivity broke, the other girls following the blonde's lead, following her while picking up chairs to break the ice, not thinking about the amazing transmutation which they had just witnessed.  
Only Molly had wits enough to go to Ami, helping the shocked girl to stand,  
saying something to the Goth girl, but Sailor Moon was too far to hear it.

"No... I will not be... defeated..." Sailor Moon turned by to the man, the corner of her eye spotted a couple of the screens showing what was happening below, "you will... still die..."

Sailor Moon grabbed up the dropped trigger and crushed it , "So much for the Forth of July." Her hot breath freezing to fog in the freezing air ,  
taking on the characteristics of a Yukon winter she knows very well.

"You are wrong... Instrument of Peace..." Sailor Moon spun on her heels but it was too late, the man had another black box in his hand, "This room... will be your cremation urn..."

Explosions.

Fire.

Crimson Silk.

Silk?

From the cascade of images, Sailor Moon's mind was able to only piece together bits and pieces of the details. There was a man squeezing the box... another man bounding into the room from the scattered window... in a tuxedo? How... how dashing, like some hero out of old black-and-white movie or shojo anime. Was he holding her? His hands... his arms... his body... they were so comfortable, and strong... she remembered the times her father held her like this... hearing the beat of his heart... how secure... how safe it made her feel... like now.

Then the crimson around Sailor Moon swirled open and for the first time she looked up into the face of her savor, his raven mop of hair crowned by an equally black top-hat and a white domino mask covered his dark eyes. He was much taller than she was, yet he seemed so gentle to her,  
not a towering body of intimidation. She also noticed for the first time she held Luna in her arms, an amazed look on the cat face, those eyes wide with reverence. Not saying a word he helped her to a stand, the girl keeping a firm hold on her guardian, "Tha... thank you... ah..."

"Tuxedo Mask," his voice, it sounded familiar yet not familiar, his lips , his expression so much like a Victorian aristocratic, noble, as his white gloved hands continued to hold her by her elbows.

"Tuxedo Mask," Sailor Moon nodded, smiling at him.

"Sailor Moon!"

The odongo heroine turned at the calling, "Molly!" she waved at the redhead coming toward her, Sailor Moon able to see Alex and the other girls in the background, the tomboy laying Galya under a tree and the sound of sirens getting louder. "Tuxedo Mask this is..." she stopped as the space where her rescuer had stood was now empty, "where..."

"I saw him running away ..." Molly stopped next to Sailor Moon, "Who was he?"

"He called himself Tuxedo Mask," Sailor Moon adjusted her own domino mask,  
looking at what was left of the Levy Center, smoking pouring out of the top floor, "Did everyone get out?"

"Yeah, some cut and bruises and a few asthma attacks," Molly's crimson locks stained with smoke.

"I hope Galya will recov-" the sirens got noticeably louder "it looks like it's time for Sailor Moon to exit and Serena to return," there was a happy smile upon those red lips as she gentle dropped Luna to the grass.

"No regrets this time?" Molly asked, her hand squeezing one of Sailor Moon's hands.

"None this time," Sailor Moon squeezed back before letting go disappearing into the landscape with a black cat bounding after her.

End of Chapter Three.  



End file.
